Vol. 440 No. 4
283 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will provide details in relation to the number of sheep premia paid to a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and the value of these payments for each of the years 1988 to 1993.
The person named received the following payments in respect of ewe premium schemes between 1988 and 1993:
|
Scheme Year |
Number of Ewes |
Total Grants Paid |
|
£ |
||
|
1988 |
92 |
1,600.80 |
|
1989 |
119 |
2,112.25 |
|
1990 |
119 |
2,820.53 |
|
1991 |
162 |
3,245.37 |
|
1992 |
43 |
1,590.89* |
|
1993 |
42 |
243.96 |
284 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the reason for the delay in the payment of 1993 headage to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo.
The application of the person named for grants under the 1993 cattle headage scheme is being processed at present and any payment due will be made in the near future.
285 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the reason for the delay in headage payment to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo.
The application of the person named for grants under the 1993 cattle headage scheme is being processed at present and any payment due will be made in the near future. He cannot be paid any 1993 suckler cow premium as he has no quota at present. If he succeeds in obtaining a quota from the national reserve his 1993 suckler cow application will be considered. I recently announced that application forms for suckler cow reserve quota are now available from local offices of my Department or from the Quota Unit, Michael Davitt House, Castlebar. The closing date for receipt of completed application forms is 8 April 1994.
286 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will reconsider a 1993 22 month beef premium for a person (details supplied) in County Limerick who has appealed the decision of his Department to refuse this premium for 10 beef bullocks in view of the fact that this person has no other income from farming; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The person named applied in February 1993 for 22 months special beef premium on ten animals. However, in view of the ages of the animals declared on the application, they were not entitled to the premium during this application period. Therefore under EU regulations he could not be paid premium on these animals.
287 D'fhiafraigh Éamon Ó Cuív den Aire Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Foraoiseachta cén uair a íocfar deontaisí beithígh le duine (sonraí tugtha) i gContae na Gaillimhe.
Íocfar foirdheontas or bith atá le n-íoch don duine seo le gairid.
288 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the reason a 1993 slaughter premium was not paid to a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The person named applied for deseasonalisation slaughter premium on 19 animals in 1993. He was paid on 15 of these animals on 7 March 1994. The slaughter premium will be paid on the four remaining animals when and if the special beef premium is paid on these animals.
289 Mr. Crowley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when the balance of a suckler cow grant will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Cork.
The application of the person named for grants under the 1993 suckler cow premium scheme is being processed at present and an 60 per cent advance payment due will be paid shortly. Payment of the balance of suckler cow premium cannot be made to a particular applicant until all applications received from him/her in the course of 1993 have been processed. This is necessary to ensure compliance with EU regulations covering in particular the ceiling on eligible animals and stocking density.
The person named applied for grants under the 1993 beef cow scheme and was paid an advance of £639.78 on 3 December 1993 and the balance of £426.55 on 4 March 1994.
290 Mr. Nealon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will introduce regulations to entitle farmers who inadvertently sold animals without cards being stamped and punched to be paid beef premia that would otherwise be due.
I have already announced concessions which allow payment to be made on eligible male cattle sold for slaughter or for export to countries outside the European Union. Where male cattle are sold to other farmers with unpunched cattle identity cards however, the farmers purchasing them may legitimately believe that they can apply for premium on them and the farmers selling these cattle are likely to obtain a higher price than they would otherwise for such cattle because of this belief. I cannot see how my Department can pay premium in these circumstances to the selling farmers who failed to comply with rules of the special beef premium scheme as to do so could mean denying premium to purchasing farmers observing all the relevant rules of the scheme.
291 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the reason a person (details supplied) in County Cork has not been paid her 1992 or 1993 suckler cow grants.
The person named applied for grants on 20 animals under the December 1992 suckler cow premium scheme. She presented 13 cows and 5 replacement in-calf heifers at inspection. She has been requested to submit proof that she had all the animals for which she applied for grants at the date of application. When such proof is submitted her eligibility for grants under the 1992 and 1993 suckler cow premium schemes will be considered further.
292 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the level of grants for marketing expenditure made available to the food processing industry by An Coras Beostoic Feola, under the operational programme for rural development, during each of the years 1991 to 1993; the amounts, if any, which are outstanding from his Department to Coras Beostoic agus Feola; if such a scheme will continue in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Under the Operational Programme for Rural Development, grants of up to 50 per cent are available from An Coras Beostoic agus Feola (CBF) towards eligible expenditure on market research by individual firms, subject to a limit of £200,000 per firm per annum.
Pending the receipt of a final report and claim from CBF and the examination of these by my Department, it is not possible to indicate the amounts involved.
It is proposed, under the National Development Plan 1994 to 1999, that assistance will be provided for the promotion and market development of food products.
293 Mr. E. Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if a person (details supplied) in County Mayo is entitled to payment of a suckler grant.
The person named applied for premium on 12 cows under the December 1992 suckler cow scheme. When an inspection was carried out in June 1993 it was found that he did not have any of the cows he applied on. However, he presented 12 replacement in-calf heifers. He said that he sold the 12 cows applied on and after some time he produced mart receipts for 8 of the cows sold. To date he has not produced receipts for the remaining 4 cows. His application cannot be processed until these receipts are provided.
