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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 8 Dec 1998

Vol. 498 No. 1

Adjournment Debate. - Grant Payments.

I am delighted the Minister of State, Deputy Wallace, is present but very disappointed that neither the Minister nor the two Ministers of State in the Department of Agriculture and Food are present. I object in the strongest manner to this. This is exactly what is happening to the general public in relation to area aid. We cannot get a Minister, an official or a reply and this is why I have raised this matter tonight.

I receive misinformation from the Department of Agriculture and Food as do my constituents. People are being told area aid applications have been processed and that payment will issue as soon as possible. Eight weeks later they are told there is an error in their area aid applications. Another famous response from the Department is that the area aid application has not reached the office, even though people can prove they handed in their applications as early as May last year.

Farmers cannot get through to the office. Did the Minister do a deal with Telecom Éireann who are the real winners? Farmers are robbed. They are left on hold for 20 or 30 minutes when they telephone the office. There is something very wrong and I wonder what percentage of this cost is the Government getting.

Why does an outside agency deal with area aid? It is paid by the State. If farmers make a mistake they are subject to a penalty. What penalty is imposed on this outside agency when an employee does not put the correct digit on an area aid application? Is it penalised? The outside agency never wants the issue of area aid to be resolved as it wants to be employed again next year. What is happening is outrageous.

Some farmers are told difficulties have arisen in their applications, and still they are not being notified by the Department. Why does the Department not notify farmers when a problem arises? Some farmers are notified and deal with the problem, but, six or seven weeks later they still have not received any money.

Christmas is approaching and Santa Claus only comes once a year. The Government is certainly not responding and getting into the Christmas spirit, as many farmers have not received their area aid, premium or headage payments.

How much is outstanding in terms of area aid? How many area aid applications are still unresolved in the 1998 period? Farmers are waiting for their money. This is the third time I have raised this issue. Can the Minister assure me these farmers will have their payments for Christmas? Last month the Minister said the telephone lines to the area aid office are again open. I will give the Minister £100 for the charity of his choice if he rings the office tomorrow morning and succeeds in getting through. Enough is enough. Farmers have had a disastrous year and need their money. Last year they got some price for their stock but this year they are getting nothing. I am sorry the Minister and both Ministers of State, all from the east like the Three Wise Men — Santa also came from the East — are not present. The three wise men brought gold, frankincense and myrrh: all we want for these farmers is money.

As a member of a Government which has collective responsibility I am pleased to have the opportunity to respond to this matter. I apologise on behalf of my colleagues, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Walsh, and the Ministers of State, Deputies Davern and Ned O'Keeffe, who regret they are unable to be present to reply to the debate. Deputy Ring spoke of Santa Claus — I thought his cousin was in the House last week when the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, presented the most outstanding budget in the history of the State. It was a budget of macro proportions which will have a micro effect right across the island.

Information given in replies to parliamentary questions is correct at the time replies are furnished to Deputies. However, experience has shown that an area aid application which is cleared for payment at the time a question is answered may subsequently become an error case. Typically this occurs when the digitisation of a second contiguous farm results in dual or overlap claims against a previously clear case. In such cases it becomes necessary to establish entitlement to the area concerned.

To date more than £784 million has been paid to farmers under the various EU headage and premium schemes of which almost £484 million relates to payments made under the 1998 schemes. In the past week alone £12 million has been paid. The corresponding figure paid at this time last year under the 1997 schemes was £465 million.

The payment commencement targets under the Charter of Rights for Farmers for the main headage and premium schemes have been met or indeed surpassed this year. In so far as the 1998 headage schemes are concerned, payment of sheep headage commenced on 21 September last, one week ahead of the 1997 commencement date.

They have not got it.

To date some £17.633 million has been paid. Sheep headage top-up payments commenced on 26 November 1998 and £2.312 million was paid within a few days. Payment of the 1997 top-up did not commence until 11 December last year. Payments under the 1998 cattle headage scheme commenced on 26 September last, a full three weeks ahead of the commencement date in 1997. Payments under the 1998 beef cow schemes commenced on 30 October 1998. To date £83.983 million has been paid to cattle headage and beef cow scheme applicants.

Of the 89,000 applications received under the 1998 cattle headage and beef cow scheme some 3,000 have not been cleared for payment at local office level because of problems of one kind or another. In these cases the applicants have been written to about the problem on one or more occasions. The second instalment of 1998 ewe premium was agreed at EU level on 2 October. The regulation giving effect to the rate was published on 16 October and payments totalling £24.699 million were paid to 97 per cent of applicants during the week ending 23 October 1998, which was never achieved before by the Department under any Government.

Payments of the advances under the 1998 special beef premium started on 19 October 1998, as opposed to 1 November 1997 under the 1997 schemes. The Minister secured this earlier payment date this year with an 80 per cent advance instead of the normal 60 per cent advance in order to increase the cash flow to farmers in the October to December period. So far almost £79 million has been paid, which compares with £53 million paid at this time last year.

Of the 158,000 special beef premium applications received from January to August, some 6,000 are under query from Portlaoise and in these cases the farmers concerned have been written to on at least one occasion. Payments will continue to be made between now and the year's end so as to ensure that all eligible cases are paid their advances by 31 December 1998 in line with the charter commitments.

Payments under the 1998 suckler cow scheme commenced on 20 October 1998 which is ahead of the commencement date of 4 November 1997 under the 1997 scheme. The earlier commencement and higher rate of advance applies also to this scheme. To date almost £98 million has been paid. The position at this time last year was that £73 million was paid. Of the 73,500 applications received under the May 1998 suckler cow premium scheme, some 3,000 are under query at local office level and in these cases the applicants have been written to on at least one occasion. Payments will continue to be made between now and the year's end so as to ensure that all eligible cases are paid their advances by 31 December 1998 in line with the charter commitments.

Payments under the 1998 arable aid scheme commenced on 16 October and on 25 September for oilseeds. Some £86.065 million has now been paid to 97 per cent of applicants. The remaining 475 applicants have been contacted and the reasons for non-payment outlined.

The Minister of State's time is concluded, but if the House agrees he may finish.

We should not but we will. We are hearing nothing new.

It is always good to listen to a European man.

Payment in these cases will issue as soon as outstanding problems are resolved.

In addition to the foregoing some 7,000 1998 area aid applications are still under query. The area aid unit of the Department is currently concentrating all of its resources on the resolution of problems associated with these cases with a view to paying the farmers concerned at the earliest possible opportunity. Not all applications received will ultimately be entitled to payment. For example more than 900 suckler cow applicants do not hold suckler cow quotas and are, therefore, not entitled to payment. In other cases payment will be withheld because of the application of penalties. In some case farmers omitted to complete an area aid declaration.

The position is, however, that payments under the headage and premium schemes do not conclude at the end of a calendar year. For example under the suckler cow and special beef premium schemes the regulations provide for an advance payment in the year of application with balancing payments being made in the following year. Payments under the October 1998 suckler cow scheme cannot commence until the six months retention period expires on 1 April next.

The House will appreciate, therefore, that it is simply not possible, at this early stage, to provide an estimate of outstanding payments. A record level of payments has been achieved this year with £784 million already paid to farmers under the premia and headage schemes. Payments continue to be made as problem cases are resolved and farmers respond to queries from the Department. The Minister of Agriculture and Food's objective is to ensure the maximum delivery of payments to farmers this year and every effort is being made to clear payments in time for Christmas. With the amount of money we have paid out, Santa Claus will not have much more to deliver.

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