Vol. 519 No. 6
121 Mr. U. Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will have arrangements made to repay, with appropriate interest, all moneys overclaimed to the EU by Teagasc and by his Department's farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14661/00]
The position is that since the CAP reform arrangements were introduced in 1992 restrictions are in place in a number of EU funded schemes which limit the size of the claim or restricts eligibility to certain categories of producer. These limits and restrictions arise from policy decisions within the framework of the common agricultural policy.
Effectively my Department must satisfy itself that where new holdings are created after 30 June 1992 they are in fact legitimate entities managed separately from existing holdings and that holdings which existed prior to 30 June 1992 are not split into two or more holdings with the sole purpose of avoiding individual limits on eligibility for premiums. Applying this requirement to the Teagasc and Department farms it can be seen that there was no conversion of existing holdings or creation of new holdings after 30 June 1992 which led to improper avoidance of the provision relating to individual limits on eligibility for premiums.
