Olwyn Enright
Question:104 Ms Enright asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the number of applications for installation aid being processed; and the average time between application and payment. [20171/04]
View answerTuesday, 6 July 2004
Questions (72)
Written answers
The installation aid scheme involves a two-stage application process; initial applications for entry into the scheme — IAS 1 — must be submitted within six months of the date of set-up in farming. The applicant than has a further 24 months to complete the educational and other requirements of the scheme. An application for payment — IAS 2 — together with all the required supporting documentation, must be forwarded to my Department before the end of this period.
At present, my Department has 1,319 IAS 1 applications on hands, of which 321 have been progressed to IAS 2 stage by the applicant. This stage, which is controlled by the applicant, normally takes about eight months. Under the terms of the scheme, applicants have up to 24 months to complete this stage. Once the IAS 2 has been received, it usually takes about nine weeks to carry out a full examination, which may require a farm visit. Once the application has been approved, my Department then issues payment within six weeks.