Vol. 529 No. 1
408 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will arrange to have the application by a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny reviewed with a view to having payment made at the earliest possible date. [1747/01]
The application of the person named for extensification premium will be reviewed when the European Commission regulation concerning a concession in regard to the counting of animals for the calculation of stocking density for extensification premium purposes comes into effect.
409 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development when the new farm pollution grants will be made available; and the specific additional grants which will be available for young farmers with the green certificate. [1748/01]
The new scheme of investment aid for farm waste management will commence on 1 February and application forms will be available from the local farm development services offices of my Department from that date. Under the scheme grant aid will be payable at the rate of 40% to farmers with up to 150 income units while farmers with more than 150 income units and up to a maximum of 200 income units will be eligible for a 20% rate of grant. The maximum investment eligible for grant will be £40,000.
The grant rate will be increased in respect of waste and silage storage facilities, animal housing and associated facilities by 15% in less favoured areas and by 5% in other areas in the case of young trained farmers under 35 years of age who have obtained the Teagasc certificate in farming or an equivalent qualification or alternatively in the case of those born before 1 January 1975 who have completed courses of recognised training in agriculture or horticulture of at least 180 hours and have a minimum of three years farming experience.
410 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the situation regarding payment of a 2000 ewe premium to a person (details supplied) in County Cork. [1749/01]
Following a compliance inspection on the flock of the person named the number of sheep found was lower than that claimed on his application. The result was a reduced payment and he was notified of this decision in writing. He was also advised that he could have his case reviewed by the district inspector at his local office. Correspondence on behalf of the person named was received from his solicitor and the matter is currently under review. The person named will be informed in writing of the outcome shortly.
411 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the situation regarding an area aid application by a person (details supplied) in County Cork; the reason that the inaccuracies in the application were not flagged when this application was acknowledged on 28 April 2000; and if the Department will look leniently on the issue of penalties arising from the application. [1802/01]
The person named submitted a 2000 area aid application on which he declared a total of 14.20 hectares made up of two parcels and two plots. This information was entered on the Department's electronic database.
The plots were digitised according to maps supplied by the person named and an overclaim of 0.96 hectares – 7% – was then identified on one of the land parcels. This was the earliest possible stage at which the applicant could be notified of the error. The person was informed of the position and submitted correspondence indicating that he accepted the overclaim.
Under Article 9 of EU Regulations 3887/92, no penalty is applied when the difference is less than 3%, the penalty is based on double the difference when it is between 3% and 20% and when the difference is over 20%, a 100% penalty must be applied. Therefore, in this case the penalty is based on a difference of between 3% and 20%. A penalty of 2.88 hectares has to be applied leaving the area determined for payment at 11.32 hectares.
