Vol. 533 No. 4
114 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if an application from a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath for the farm retirement scheme has been received; if so, the date this application was received; the reason for the delay in processing this application; and when this person is likely to receive a pension. [9196/01]
The person named lodged an application under the previous scheme of early retirement from farming at her local FDS office on 30 December 1999. An exceptionally large number of applications were received in the last weeks of 1999 because 31 December was the closing date for applications under the scheme. The resulting heavy volume of work at the local office concerned meant that the file was not examined until 24 July 2000 when a number of essential core documents were found to be missing. This documentation was submitted in October 2000 and the application was subsequently deemed to be valid with effect from the date it was submitted. The person named will be paid, therefore, with effect from 30 December 1999.
Before payment can be made, however, it is necessary to establish whether the applicant qualifies for a national retirement pension because she reached the age of 66 on 23 March 2001. On 5 February 2001 she was asked to provide evidence of the position. As soon as this information is received, immediate arrangements will be made to pay her the appropriate rate of pension and she will also receive the arrears due to her.
