Vol. 531 No. 3
173 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the number of persons that have applied for the new EU farm retirement pension; the number which have been sanctioned; if he has satisfied himself that sufficient personnel are in place to deal with paperwork and inspection if necessary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5851/01]
To date, my Department has received 88 applications under the new early retirement scheme. Thirteen of these were returned to the applicants having been found to be either ineligible or invalid. While the pro cessing of the remainder is at an advanced stage, none has as yet been approved for payment.
Additional administrative, professional and technical posts have been assigned to the operation of the early retirement scheme and other direct payment schemes and the majority of these posts have been filled. The provision of these additional resources is complemented by the development of an enhanced computer system for the early retirement scheme. These measures taken together are sufficient for the efficient operation of the scheme but the position will be kept under review.
