Dan Neville
Ceist:222 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development when an area based aid payment will be made to a person details supplied in County Limerick. [27601/01]
Written Answers. - Grant Payments.
The animal based headage schemes have been replaced in 2001 by the area based compensatory allowance scheme. A condition of the new scheme is that applicants must meet a minimum stocking level of 0.15 livestock units per forage hectare in the year preceding application. However, farmers who are unable to meet that minimum stocking density, but who traditionally qualified for headage grants in respect of cattle and-or sheep may continue to qualify for payment, provided their land is being utilised and is not in danger of under grazing. The person named was not a headage recipient in 2000 and, according to my Department's records, the stocking density of the holding does not meet the minimum requirement. My Department wrote to the person named on 7 November 2001 with a view to establishing the type of farming activity being pursued. A decision on entitlement to area-based compensatory allowance will be made on receipt of reply.