There are currently 23 herd owners in Kildare awaiting payments under the 2011 Single Payment Scheme. The timing of the Single Farm Payment is of critical importance to farmers, given that it represents in excess of €1.2 billion of the €1.7 billion that is paid out annually in direct aid. The SFP forms a significant part of the annual income of all farmers in Ireland, in many cases it is used to subsidise the running costs of the farming enterprise and is, therefore, greater than the net farm income in those cases. During 2011, mindful of the significance to the wider rural economy of the Single Payment, I successfully sought the approval of the Commissioner to have advance payments made on the earliest possible date. I am pleased to say that these payments commenced issuing on 17 October 2011, with payments continuing to be made, twice weekly, on an on-going basis. The vast majority of farmers had been paid by the end of December 2011.