Vol. 412 No. 2
69 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his attention has been drawn to the hardship being suffered by farmers in County Westmeath who have been deemed ineligible for special beef premium payments on technical grounds; if he has any plans to review these applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
72 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the number of applications for the special beef premium scheme in County Westmeath in (a) 1988, (b) 1989, (c) 1990; and the number which were rejected in each year.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 69 and 72 together. In County Westmeath in 1988 there were 2,070 applications for special beef premium of which seven were rejected; there were 2,464 applications in 1989 of which 55 were rejected; and there were 2,279 in 1990 of which 122 were rejected.
More applications would have been rejected in 1990, however, but for the flexible approach which, at my request, the EC Commission adopted for that year in the interpretation of the relevant regulations.
The EC Commission agreed to this flexibility because of the possibility of some confusion among applicants, given that 1990 was the first year in which 100 per cent on-farm inspections were not carried out. The Commission were adamant, however, that the regulations governing the scheme should be strictly adhered to by all applicants in 1991 and subsequent years.
Despite the warnings to this effect which issued to all applicants with their 1991 application forms, however, some 1991 applicants seem to have repeated the mistakes of 1990. It is too early yet to say how serious this problem is but I am having it kept under constant review. Meanwhile, I have asked the EC to review the rules of this scheme.
70 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his attention has been drawn to the serious hardship being caused to farmers who apply for the special beef premium scheme, and who discover that punched and stamped cards are included in their applications, in error, which debar them from payment for two years; if he has requested the EC to amend this regulation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I have been aware of the problem raised by the Deputy. A warning issued to all applicants with the 1991 application forms, however, telling them not to apply for premium on cattle whose cattle identity cards had been notched or rubber-stamped already for premium as it is a fundamental condition of this EC scheme that each male bovine can be paid premium only once in its lifetime. It is unfortunate that some applicants seem to have ignored this warning and, while it is too early yet to measure how widespread this problem is, I am keeping the situation under review.
I have asked the EC to review the rules of this scheme.
