My Department received an application from the person named on 30 October 2009 but unfortunately he died on 12 November 2009 and the issue then arose of the entitlement of his widow to payment of the pension if his application was found to have been valid.
My Department is not at present in a position to grant the continuation of a deceased participant's pension to his or her dependants. Since the first Scheme of Early Retirement from Farming was introduced in 1994, it had been my Department's practice to continue to do so. However, following audits of the Scheme earlier this year by both the European Court of Auditors and the European Commission, the Commission informed my Department that this practice is not compatible with the current EU governing Regulations and must be discontinued.
The Commission has not yet formally communicated its decision to the Department. Once it does so, my officials will be engaging in discussions with the Commission services to clarify the position. In the meantime, my Department has no option but to suspend the processing of new cases such as that of the person named.
