Written Answers. - Grant Payments.
John Deasy
Question:
230
Mr. Deasy
asked the
Minister for Agriculture and Food
if his attention has been drawn to the concern being expressed by persons with vested rights on a mountain (details supplied) regarding an affidavit being drawn up for his Department to allow area based payments issue; if there is an overclaim on this mountain; if payments to those with vested rights will be reduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[15208/03]
John Deasy
Question:
231
Mr. Deasy
asked the
Minister for Agriculture and Food
the reason area based payments to farmers with vested rights on Coumaraglin Mountain have not been made; when he intends to release payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[15209/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 230 and 231 together.
As part of their 2002 area aid applications, a number of farmers increased their share of Coumaraglin Mountain without furnishing documentary evidence of their entitlement to the shares/rights declared while one included a share of the mountain for the first time again without furnishing the required evidence. However, these applications were processed with some reductions so as to facilitate payment to all concerned. Of those farmers who claimed a share of Coumaraglin Mountain on their 2002 area aid application, two have not been paid area based compensation as they have not responded to correspondence issued from my Department requesting details of their stock in order to ensure that these two applicants meet the minimum stocking density requirement of 0.15 livestock units/hectare. Further letters have issued to the farmers concerned.
As regards special beef premium, all payments have been made to those claiming land on Coumaraglin Mountain with the exception of one applicant who is awaiting the 20% balancing payment. This producer's area aid application requires further clarification. At the behest of local farmer representatives and the farm bodies, officials of my Department attended two public meetings in December 2002 and April 2003 to indicate to farmers the options that were available to them in relation to the division of Coumaraglin Mountain for the purposes of area related payments. At these meetings it was explained that the commonage concerned was owned by five landlords and that there were a number of categories of entitlement to graze the commonage,viz. those with vested rights arising from an appurtenant from nearby lowland lands who had documentary evidence of same and those with long-term grazing rights based on prescription. It was pointed out that, although this is a registered commonage with some herdowners having vested rights, there was no quantitative allocation of these rights. In other words, each right conferred the right to graze the entire commonage. Equally, those with long-term grazing rights had, similarly, the right to graze the entire commonage.
The Deputy will be aware that in cases where commonage land is declared for the purposes of drawing down aid, one of the conditions of eligibility is the provision of documentary evidence of entitlement to the shares/rights declared. Applicants must state the share of commonage which they are entitled to claim and must ensure that the documentation submitted as proof of entitlement is adequate to support this claim. In circumstances where no valid documentary evidence exists, my Department is prepared to a accept a joint affidavit signed by all shareholders/grazing rightsholders setting out the total number of commonage shares/grazing rights; each shareholder's entitlement in the commonage; each grazing rightsholder's allocation of rights and the extent to which such rights may be exercised; and an undertaking that, if at any future date, a person other than the deponents or their successors establishes a valid claim to a share in the commonage/grazing rights, such person would be accommodated by a proportionate reduction in the existing shares/grazing rights as set out in the affidavit. Any such affidavit must also state that it will not be used for purposes other than those for which it was prepared. It must also show that every reasonable effort was made to establish a definitive list of shareholders/grazing rights relative to the entire area to which the affidavit refers.
Officials from my Department pointed out that should all of the farmers agree to the division of Coumaraglin Mountain and submit the joint affidavit in the format already outlined above that this will facilitate the processing of their 2003 area based and rural environment protection scheme applications. There was consensus at the second public meeting that the herdowners would get together and submit a joint affidavit to my Department. As regards the rural environment protection scheme for 2002, there are seven applicants who are claiming land on Coumaraglin Mountain, payment cannot be considered in these cases as neither documentary evidence or a joint affidavit has been submitted in support of the claims.
