Vol. 556 No. 4
133 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason an application made by a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath for the suckler cow premium quota for the 2003 national reserve has not been successful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20716/02]
The person named applied for an allocation of suckler cow quota from the 2003 national reserve under category A, which catered for farmers who were first time applicants under the suckler cow premium scheme and who were under 35 years of age on 1 January 2002. It was a requirement for all applicants to the reserve that their off-farm income for the nine month period 6 April 2001 to 31 December 2001 must not exceed €9,525. The person named did not submit a certificate of income for the period in question. However he did submit a certificate of income for the year ended 5 April 2001 showing a yearly income of €21,148. If his income did not change for 2001 then his income on a pro rata basis for a nine-month period would be €15,861 which exceeds the €9,525 level laid down by the quota review group. In the circumstances, he does not qualify for an allocation of suckler cow quota from the 2003 national reserve. However, if the person named submits a certificate of income for the required nine month period in 2001, my Department will re-examine his application.
134 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason an application for suckler cow premium quota for 2003 from the national reserve on behalf of a person (details supplied) in County Galway has not been successful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20717/02]
The position with regard to the 2003 national reserve was that there were only some 1,500 suckler cow premium rights available for distribution. Since demand for reserve quota exceeded that figure, there were not enough rights available to satisfy all applicants. Consequently, quota had to be distributed in accordance with the priorities laid down by the quota review group and EU regulations as follows: (i) 5% of the reserve had to be reserved for category B applicants – farmers with holdings on offshore islands; (ii)10% of the reserve had to be reserved for category C applicants – organic farmers and (iii) the remaining quota was distributed to qualifying applicants under category A – first time applicants under 35 years of age who, under EU rules, had to be given priority. As a result there was no quota left to allocate to any applicant under category D, that is, farmers who required additional quota to ensure viability of their holding. Since the person named applied for an allocation of quota under category D, it was therefore not possible to allocate quota to him from the 2003 national reserve.
