Denis Naughten
Question:486. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) will receive outstanding payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5046/19]
View answerTuesday, 5 February 2019
Questions (486)
Written answers
The person named was approved into the AEOS1 with a start date of 1 September 2010. The contract was for a five years and four month period up to 31 December 2015. As part of the application, the person named chose the option to plant 155 standard trees.
A separate claim for payment of the non-productive capital investment element of the scheme was submitted by the person named in October 2011, which was accompanied by a receipt. Payments on the capital investment claim were made to the person named in respect of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 scheme years.
The person named was written to in January 2015 to inform them that a scheme wide investigation had been initiated and that their 2014 payments were being held pending the outcome of the investigation. The Department subsequently sought alternative proof of the expenditure claim submitted by the person named but such alternative proof was not received. The Department wrote to the person named on 1 April 2016 to inform them that the claim submitted was not accepted and that as the claim far exceeded the verified costs, in accordance with the relevant EU Regulation, the person named was to be excluded from the scheme for the remaining two years and all previous capital investment payments would be recouped.
The person named unsuccessfully requested a review of this decision to the Department, unsuccessfully appealed the decision to the Agricultural Appeals Office and unsuccessfully raised the issue with the Office of the Ombudsman.
There are no payments due on the person named in relation to their AEOS contract.