Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I accept the point and it is often made in engagement I have with farmers and farm organisations. I wish it were so but the regulations are quite clear. They state that if a case is selected for inspection the inspection must be concluded and processed before payment is made. Regrettably, this is the EU regulation under which we operate. This is why every effort has been made to get applications online. This has increased the efficiency of the process. We are comfortably within the targets set out in the farmers' charter. A total of 119,135 farmers have been paid out of 122,000 applications. For those still waiting approval, it is a significant financial issue.

As I said, there are difficulties with over-claims, boundaries, commonage problems and dual claims. We are trying to work through them as quickly as possible with a view to getting out balancing payments at the earliest possible date.

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