Tom Hayes
Question:215 Mr. Hayes asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if payment of ten month and 20 month subsidies will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary under the 1997 schemes. [23227/03]
Written Answers. - Grant Payments.
There were inaccuracies in the herdowner's 1997 area aid application which resulted in the entire application being disallowed. However, having re-examined this case my Department has accepted the herdowner's claim that these inaccuracies resulted from a genuine error on his part and his 1997 application will now be processed with an area determined for payment purposes of 118.50 hectares. Special beef premium payments will issue to the person named as soon as possible. The payments will be in respect of 89 animals, of which 70 were eligible for ten month premium and 19 were eligible for 22 month premium.
Pat Breen
Question:216 Mr. P. Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason a person (details supplied) in County Clare did not receive area aid for 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23289/03]
The person named included a land parcel on his 2003 area aid application, which was also claimed by another herdowner. Both herdowners were written to and the person named accepted that he was not entitled to claim area aid on the parcel concerned. However, in light of representations made by the person named, the area aid unit has accepted that the herdowner included this parcel on his area aid application in genuine error. His area aid application has now been processed with an area determined of 28.59 hectares of forage land. He will be paid his full entitlement under the 2003 area based compensatory allowance scheme shortly.
Michael Ring
Question:217 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason a person (details supplied) in County Mayo has not received an area based payment for the past three years. [23301/03]
The person named has been paid €3,524.09 under the 2001 area based compensatory allowance scheme. However, processing of the 2002 and 2003 area based compensatory allowance scheme applications was delayed because of inquiries by the Department's special investigation unit into dealings by the person named in respect of her livestock. It has now been decided that payments under the area based compensatory allowance scheme should be released. Arrangements are being made to have these outstanding payments made at an early date.
Paul Connaughton
Question:218 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason a person (details supplied) in County Galway is not entitled to an extensification for 2002; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this person applied under the simplified system for extensification in the belief that the land in question would be at his disposal in 2002 and would have used the census system had the point been clearer at that time; if his Department will now allow the person to use the census system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23304/03]
The person named participated in 2002 extensification premium opting for the simplified system for the purposes of determining eligibility. On participating he chose to observe a stocking density of less than 1.40 livestock units per hectare for each and every day of 2002. Under the terms of the relevant regulation the Department is required to carry out stocking density cross-checks against the CMMS animals database prior to payment to ensure that the stocking densities as chosen were not breached. Cross-checks were carried out on 19 May 2003 and 15 September 2003 and stocking densities 1.5583 and 1.6230 livestock units per hectare, respectively, were established. These stocking densities were calculated on a total forage area of 35.47 hectares found following an area aid administrative check. This area of 35.47 hectares was the area that remained following the withdrawal by the person named of a one twelfth share of a commonage land parcel that he had included on his 2002 area aid application.
The relevant EU regulation provides for herdowners who participated in extensification premium under the simplified system to change during the course of the scheme year in question between the low and the high stocking densities and vice versa. In this case, however, no such request was made to the Department by the deadline of 31 December 2002. Since a request to change from the low to the higher stocking density was not made by the year's end, it is regretted that the person named cannot be facilitated in that regard at this stage.