Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise the closing date of 15 May for applications to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for benefit under the single farm payment scheme, the disadvantaged areas scheme, REPS, the energy crop scheme and protein crop scheme. This might well be one of the shortest contributions on an Adjournment debate but it will probably be one of the more important this year with regard to the agricultural community.

I have in my possession documentation from the Department, SPS document 08. The official Department document states, "Please note the closing date for submission of 2008 applications and supporting documentation is 31 May 2008." I will give that personally to the Minister, whom I am delighted to see in the Chamber.

The reason I raise this matter is that the value of single farm payments, as a result of their defined nature, is declining year on year in real terms. We have now seen modulation proposals from the CAP reform. It is simply unacceptable for any farmer to lose a percentage of his payment by virtue of submitting a late application. The Minister knows as well as I and any representative of a rural constituency the pressure under which Teagasc offices and independent agricultural consultants worked over the past weeks when trying to get the maximum number of applications in by 15 May. Significant effort was made. I am sure the Minister will tell me tonight that of possibly 130,000 applications, the vast majority have been submitted.

There was conflicting advice on official Department documentation, as well as an almost impossible deadline for agriculture consultants, Teagasc and otherwise, to meet — 15 May. I reiterate that the conflicting documentation states clearly, "Please note the closing date for submission of 2008 applications and supporting documentation is 31 May 2008."

I ask the Minister to address this in the interests of farmers and to ensure nobody suffers an undue penalty. There is a 1% penalty per day on late application up to the end of May. In order to ensure nobody suffers an undue penalty and loss of income in difficult times, given the small number of applications concerned, I ask the Minister to accept that all applications received in the Department after 15 May and up to the end of this month should be documented and approved for full payment without penalty.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I am happy to assure the House that the procedures operated by my Department during the application period for the submission of the 2008 single farm payment forms worked extremely well. In all, over 99.5% of all applications were submitted on time by farmers either by post, the Department's electronic on-line system or by delivering them to one of the Department's local offices.

The Deputy will be aware that for a number of years, my Department has adopted the practice of pre-printing data on the personalised applications automatically provided to scheme applicants in order to simplify the application process for farmers. The huge benefit of this service is that those applicants whose farming circumstances do not change from one year to the next simply have to check the pre-printed data and, being satisfied as to its accuracy, sign and submit the form to my Department. It should be noted that in excess of two thirds of applications each year fall into this "no change" category.

My Department is constantly looking for ways to improve the system of submission of applications forms by farmers. An on-line application facility for the single payment scheme was introduced on a pilot basis for the 2007 scheme, which was very well received by farmers. While the number received on-line under the 2007 scheme was a very respectable 7,500, I am very pleased to inform the House that the number submitted on-line under the 2008 scheme has risen to 19,500 — almost a threefold increase. This increase, which is very welcome, is evidence of the benefits which farmers and their advisers see in the on-line facility.

When choosing a closing date for the 2008 scheme, my Department had to be very mindful of the fact that, for the first time, applicants under the rural environment protection scheme had to observe the SPS closing date. Applicants under a variety of other schemes, including the disadvantaged areas scheme, the energy crops scheme, the farm waste management scheme and the new suckler welfare scheme, among many others, are also obliged to submit single payment applications. Therefore, it was decided to set the closing date at the latest allowed under the EU rules. Under the relevant EU regulations, there is no possibility of extending this deadline.

Specifically with regard to the closing date under the 2008 scheme, the following additional measures were taken by my Department to ensure that the message regarding the closing date received the widest possible publicity. In addition to the press release of 2 May reminding farmers of the upcoming deadline and advising them to submit their forms if they had not already done so, emphasising that there was no possibility of an extension, and the placing of an advertisement in the farming press setting out a similar message, my Department took the following action on the matter. A note highlighting the closing date was e-mailed to all local radio stations with a request that they publicise the deadline in their agricultural programmes and their community notices. An information note was issued to all agriculture agents by e-mail. The Department also made contact with the management of An Post and asked them to ensure that all post addressed to the single payment unit in Portlaoise was delivered promptly last week. A further press release was issued on 12 May. We also worked with the farming press with a view to publishing articles highlighting the need to submit an application by 15 May 2008.

In addition, I decided to keep all 47 Department local offices open until 9 p.m. on Thursday, 15 May, while the main single payment scheme office in Portlaoise remained open through lunchtime to facilitate callers. The Agfood.ie helpdesk, which deals exclusively with on-line issues from farmers and agents, remained open until 12 midnight on the closing day, an out-of-hours service having also been available in the days prior to the closing date.

I am fully satisfied that the campaign initiated by my Department was entirely successful, as is clearly illustrated by the high level of applications submitted by farmers by the deadline of 15 May 2008. While, as in all walks of life, some applications were submitted after the deadline, it is interesting to note that the numbers received late in 2008 are broadly in line with the numbers received late — approximately 0.5% — under the 2007 scheme and earlier years. The vast majority of these will be subject only to a 1% late reduction penalty.

If Deputy Creed gives me the documentation referred to earlier I will have the matter investigated.