Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 January 2010
303 Deputy Ulick Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of farmers in County Galway who were participants in REP schemes in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009; the numbers who subsequently transferred to REP scheme four; the number of farmers in County Galway who have lost out due to his decision to prevent transfer to REP scheme four; and the financial loss as a consequence of this. [2378/10]
View answerThe number of farmers in County Galway who received payments in REPS 2 and REPS 3 in the years in question were as follows:
|
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
|
6,571 |
6,098 |
5,200 |
4,052 |
In 2008 and 2009, 2,726 applications for REPS 4 were received from farmers in County Galway.
The decision to close REPS 4 to new applicants was taken against the background of the situation in the public finance, the budgetary resources available to my Department and the level of expenditure arising from the commitments, particularly in future years, from the increase, between 2008 and 2009, from 46,694 to approx. 63,000 in the number or REPS participants. All participants already in the scheme will continue to receive payment until their current contracts run their course. In addition, all applications received before the closing date of 15 May 2009 for the 2009 scheme year and those received up to the date of closure of the scheme will be considered for entry into the scheme in accordance with the eligibility requirements.
