Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

By way of background, the situation in regard to payments under the agri-environment options scheme, AEOS, is that the European Union regulations governing its administration require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including cross-checks with the land parcel identification system, LPIS, must be completed before any payment can issue. EU audits have made it absolutely clear that compliance with the regulations must be strictly adhered to and that all checks must be passed and eligibility conditions met before payment issues. This means that individual payments may not be made until all aspects of a farmer's application are in order, all outstanding documentation provided and all queries resolved.

AEOS represented a departure from the traditional agri-environment scheme and presented a significant administrative challenge for the Department and farmers alike. Particular difficulties arose in regard to the redigitisation of land parcels and the submission of receipts in respect of capital investments. Furthermore, it was necessary to develop a computerised payment system that would facilitate payment not only for year one of the scheme but for each of the five years the scheme will run. While this development work delayed the commencement of the initial part-year payments by four months, it facilitated the commencement of the first full-year payments to clear cases in a timely fashion. Indeed, payment in respect of 2011 commenced before the end of 2011 to applicants who had successfully passed the administrative checks.

The AEOS application of the person named was received in my Department on 17 May 2010. The actions selected by the applicant included species-rich grassland and traditional hay meadow, both of which are classed as area-based actions. Under the scheme's terms and conditions, these area-based actions must be carried out on full LPIS parcels, as recorded by the Department. The area-based actions chosen by the person named were not on full LPIS parcels and, therefore, required digitisation. An amendment form was submitted by the applicant to the single payment section, SPS, to have the area-based actions on the AEOS application redigitised. However, following completion of this digitisation, discrepancies were discovered between the SPS areas declared and found. These discrepancies were satisfactorily investigated and have been resolved. Payments in respect of 2010 amount to €894.93, comprising the first 75% instalment, issued on 28 February 2012, and the 25% balancing payment of €298.03, issued on 1 March 2012.

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