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Grant Payments

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 November 2010

Tuesday, 23 November 2010

Questions (309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318)

Sean Sherlock

Question:

330 Deputy Seán Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will address an issue that has arisen in respect of an application (details supplied) for the single farm payment which is affecting processing payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43961/10]

View answer

Written answers

An application under the Single Payment Scheme/Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on the 17 May 2010.

My Department refused to accept the second page of the amendment form on the grounds that it was not received before the closing date. A formal decision issued to the person named on 28 October 2010. She was advised her of her right to appeal that decision to the Independent Agriculture Appeals Office.

To date no such appeal has been made.

Paul Connaughton

Question:

331 Deputy Paul Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the reason a person (details supplied) in County Galway has not received a single farm payment or area-based payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43981/10]

View answer

An application under the Single Payment Scheme/Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on the 17 May 2010.

This application was selected for a ground eligibility and animal identification inspection. During the course of the ground eligibility inspection deductions were made to the following parcels G27805028, G27805026, G27805021 and G27805022. The claimed area 16.11ha is reduced to 15.70ha. When tolerances are added this area was increased to 15.73 ha. As the difference is less than 3% of the area found, payment will based on the area found of 15.73ha, entitlements available are 16.26.

A formal decision issued to the person named on 14 October 2010 that advised him of his right to seek a review of the decision with 21 days to the District Inspector and of his right to appeal the outcome of any such review to the Independent Agriculture Appeals Office.

The inspection process is completed and the application has now been fully processed. The 50% advance under the Single Payment Scheme issued on 11 November 2010 with the balancing payment due on 1 December 2010. Payment under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme issued on 12 November 2010.

Paul Connaughton

Question:

332 Deputy Paul Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the reason a person (details supplied) in County Galway has not received a single farm payment or area-based payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43984/10]

View answer

An application under the 2010 Single Payment Scheme/Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on 14 May 2010. Payments could not issue as a number of parcels listed on the application required digitisation and following completion of the digitisation a number of the parcels were identified as being over claimed and the person named has been written to by my Department in this regard.

A member of staff from my Department has been in contact with the person named informing him of what needs to be done to resolve this issue.

Tom Sheahan

Question:

333 Deputy Tom Sheahan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will receive a farm waste management grant on the additional expenditure to plaster unit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43996/10]

View answer

I have asked that the case concerned be reviewed by an officer from my Department and the outcome of that review will be made known to the person concerned as soon as possible.

Tom Sheahan

Question:

334 Deputy Tom Sheahan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will receive the remainder of the disadvantaged area payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43997/10]

View answer

An application under the Single Payment Scheme/Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on the 21 April 2010. While it was necessary to resolve an issue relating to one of the parcels declared by the person named, this was recently resolved, which allowed the full payment under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme to issue to the person named on 10 November 2010.

Jimmy Deenihan

Question:

335 Deputy Jimmy Deenihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when single farm payment will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44000/10]

View answer

An application under the 2010 Single Payment Scheme/Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on 13 May 2010. A number of parcels listed on the application required re-digitisation and as a result one of the parcels was identified as being over claimed by the applicant. My Department wrote to the person named in this regard and following a request from the person named for a review, which was carried out by my Department. The outcome of the review was that the parcel was still found to be over claimed. Payment will now issue in the coming days on the basis of the reduced eligible area.

Jimmy Deenihan

Question:

336 Deputy Jimmy Deenihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when single farm payment will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44001/10]

View answer

An application under the Single Payment Scheme/Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on the 11 May 2010. This application was selected for and was the subject of a Ground Eligibility and Full Cross Compliance Inspection.

The inspection process is complete and the results are now being processed.

Under EU regulations governing the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and the Single Payments Scheme all Ground Eligibility Inspections must be completed before any payment can issue to any applicant under either scheme, including those not selected for a Ground Eligibility Inspection.

In the vast majority of cases that were inspected amendments have had to be made to the maps in order that the Land Parcel Identification System that is used for making payments to farmers is kept up-to-date. Processing of these changes is continuing with priority being given to applications that were the subject of a Ground Eligibility Inspection.

Bobby Aylward

Question:

337 Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his attention has been drawn to the fact that moneys overpaid to persons, through no fault of their own, particularly in respect of forest premiums, are being recouped in full from their direct payments; if he will put in place arrangements whereby such payment would be deducted over a period of at least three years as farming families cannot survive in the current economic climate on the payments issued once deduction is made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44010/10]

View answer

In cases where the conditions of the Afforestation Grant and Premium schemes (including FEPS) have not been complied with, in order to protect public funds the Department will commence recovery of the amounts paid to the applicant. The applicant is notified in writing and given 30 days for repayment. Any amounts outstanding after this time will be deducted from the next scheme payment. In cases of financial hardship the applicant may contact the Forestry Division of my Department to request repayment over an extended period.

Willie Penrose

Question:

338 Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will expedite an application for single farm payment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44044/10]

View answer

An application under the 2010 Single Payment Scheme was received from the person named on the 10 May 2010. The advance payment, which issued on 18 October, was on the basis of the area cleared at that stage, as a number of the parcels listed on the application required re-digitisation. The balancing payments under the Scheme are scheduled to commence issuing as and from 1 December and, as the digitising process is now complete, the full balancing payment due to the person named will issue at that stage.

Willie Penrose

Question:

339 Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the steps he will take to expedite payments of the single farm payment to a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44079/10]

View answer

An application under 2010 Single Payment Scheme/Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on 7 April 2010. Advance payments under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme issued on 21 September and under the Single Payment Scheme on 18 October 2010, both on the basis of the land cleared at that stage. Parcels listed on the application of the person named required re-digitisation; while this process is now complete it was found that the reference area on a parcel had been over-claimed. This error has been raised with the person named and on receipt of a satisfactory reply the application will be further processed, with a view to issuing payments at an early date.

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