Vol. 495 No. 4
159 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be allocated a new parcel number for a plot of land which the area aid section left out of his application in order that 1998 cattle and sheep headage and ewe premium can issue. [20347/98]
The area aid unit of my Department has issued a map of this parcel of land to the person named requesting that he outline the correct boundaries of this parcel. Digitising of the correct area will be done as soon as the map is returned to the unit.
160 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive a 1998 cattle headage payment in view of the fact the overclaim problem has already been sorted with a member of staff in the area aid unit. [20348/98]
The area aid application of the person named is fully processed. Payments in respect of cattle and sheep headage will issue in the near future.
161 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive a 1997 cattle headage payment in view of the fact that the overclaim problem has already been sorted by a member of staff in the area aid unit. [20349/98]
As stated in reply to Parliamentary Question No. 83, on 8 October 1998, the person named submitted a 1997 area aid application with a declared forage area of 0.54 hectares and thus did not meet the minimum requirement of three hectares of disadvantaged land to qualify for cattle headage.
162 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be paid a 1998 cattle and sheep headage grant in view of the fact that he has no other source of income. [20350/98]
The area aid application of the person named has been fully processed and an overlap with another herdowner has been detected. The area aid unit of my Department will be in contact with the person named with a view to resolving the overlap in the near future.
163 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if farmers whose land includes special areas of conservation and national heritage areas can be paid on all their land whether leased, owned or rented. [20351/98]
165 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the criteria, if any, in relation to destocking from the mountains for REP scheme applicants; the number of stock farmers must take off their land; and if these details have been clarified. [20354/98]
166 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason farmers whose land includes special areas of conservation and national heritage areas can only be paid £89 per acre on commonage and £50 per acre of greenland whereas land that does not include any designated areas can be paid £80 per acre for the REP scheme. [20355/98]
167 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason farmers whose land includes special areas of conservation and national heritage areas can only claim payment up to a maximum of 100 acres while those whose land does not include any designated area have no acreage limit for REP scheme payments. [20356/98]
168 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason farmers whose land includes special areas of conservation and national heritage areas have to join the REP scheme and have cross compliance as conditions of payment while land which does not include any designated area has no such conditions laid down. [20357/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 163, 165, 166, 167 and 168 together.
Lands owned attract REPS payments as do lands leased for a minimum of five years.
REPS participants with owned commonage lands or with other lands, in natural heritage areas (NHAs), including special areas of conservation (SACs) and special protection areas (SPAs), whether owned or leased for a minimum of five years, can under the new REPS measure claim payments on this land up to a maximum of 300 acres at the following rates: £80 per acre for the first 100 acres; £8 per acre between 101 and 200 acres; and £6 per acre between 201 and 300 acres. Leased commonage lands are not eligible under this measure.
