Michael P. Kitt
Ceist:358 Mr. M. Kitt asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when applicants for the EU control of farmyard pollution scheme will be paid their grants. [13113/95]
Written Answers. - Control of Farmyard Pollution Scheme.
Hugh Byrne
Ceist:374 Mr. H. Byrne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will complete and announce his long awaited review of the options available to him to re-open or replace the control of farm pollution scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13293/95]
Hugh Byrne
Ceist:378 Mr. H. Byrne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will give details of his recently announced plans in relation to the control of farmyard pollution scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13302/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 358, 374 and 378 together. When the control of farm pollution scheme was suspended in April 1995, some 18,500 applications had been received, of which approximately half will have been approved to carry out works by the end of September. At present payments are being made within 5-6 weeks of the applicants notifying my Department's local offices of works being completed and submitting the appropriate certification. To date approximately £9.3 million has been paid to about 1,500 applicants.
As I announced recently, I have now lifted the suspension in the processing of the balance of the 18,500 applications received up to 27 April 1995. This follows an intensive review of the funding arrangements for the scheme. I have now ensured that adequate financing will be available to enable payment to cover all such applicants over the next few years. I am confident that the bulk of the payments will be made in 1997. The new funding arrangements require the approval of the EU monitoring committee which meets on 29 September.
By the beginning of October all CFP applications received up to 31 December 1994 will be processed. Work will then commence on all remaining applications. Applicants will be dealt with in monthly batches starting with those received in January, 1995. It is expected that by the spring of next year processing of the final batch of applications will commence.
As a result of the review I am also introducing new improved procedures for the processing of applications. Each applicant will be written to and given up to six months to submit detailed drawings of his or her proposed developments together with a list of existing farm facilities or, where appropriate, local authority planning permission. This will greatly speed up the processing of applications.