Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 January 2015
303. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when single farm payments will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1089/15]
View answerA review of the land parcels declared by the person named under the 2013 Single Payment Scheme revealed that one of the land parcels declared by the person named contained ineligible features. In order to clarify the position regarding the areas deemed ineligible my Department undertook a ground verification check, which was carried out on 30th January 2014. This check confirmed the 2013 area over-declaration as 51.32% in the case of both the Single Farm Payment and the Disadvantaged Area Schemes. As this over-claim exceeds 20% of the newly established eligible area in respect of both schemes, no payment is due to the person named under the 2013 Single Payment and Disadvantaged Area Schemes. The person named had received payments of € 5,194.26 on 16/10/2013 and €4,487.38 on 02/12/2013 under the 2013 Single Farm Payment Scheme and a payment of €2,879.70 under the 2013 Disadvantaged Area Based Scheme, which are deemed overpaid. These amounts must be recouped before any further payments can issue.
A letter detailing the outcome of the ground verification check was issued to the person named on 10th June 2014, which also advised that if the number of hectares of eligible land found was insufficient to meet the number of his Single Payment entitlements, his Single Payment would be reduced accordingly. This letter also advised the person named that any reduction in his claimed area and/or the application of a penalty under the Single Payment Scheme may also have implications for other area based schemes for which he is an applicant, for example, the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme.
In the event that the person named was dissatisfied with the outcome of the ground verification check the decision could be appealed to the independent LPIS Appeals Committee, within 3 months of the notification letter. To date no such appeal has been received.
