Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 October 2020
412. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of ANC payments held up as a result of satellite inspections by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28027/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has arranged for advance ANC payments to be made in cases selected for satellite inspection but not yet completed, and where no other errors exist on the case (for example, outstanding dual claim queries).
Advance payments for the 2020 Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) Scheme commenced on schedule in mid-September, with payments issuing to 86,000 farmers in the first tranche. This is a significant increase on the 79,000 payments issued in the first tranche in 2019. As of 25 September, €187.2m has issued to over 87,000 farmers.
A total of 5,652 ANC eligible applications have been selected for a remote sensing inspection in 2020. Of these, a total of 4,465 have received an ANC advance payment. Of the remaining 1,187 cases, 971 have yet to meet their stocking density requirements which must be met in order for payment to issue and the balance have other errors which have yet to be resolved.
My Department is pressing ahead with processing of clear cases on a daily basis to ensure that ANC advance payments issue as quickly as possible.
