Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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11. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of rural environment protection scheme and agri-environment options scheme payments made this year or held up owing to inspections and queries; when it is hoped all payments for 2014 will be fully made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18460/15]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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A large number of queries are being received now that payments are due under both the REPS and AEOS. The Minister might give us an update on how many farmers have been paid, how many remain to be paid and when we hope to have clarity on all REPS and AEOS payments for 2014 which will be paid in 2015.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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With regard to the REPS, total payments of €23.53 million have been made in 2015 to date. The vast majority relate to 2014, while payments for 2015 have not yet commenced. A total of 3,371 REPS 4 applicants have received payments this year to date in respect of their 2014 contracts, while 157 applicants have received payments in respect of their 2013 contracts.

In 2014 there were 865 REPS 4 cases selected for on-the-spot inspections. Almost 96% of these inspections have been fully completed, leaving a further 38 cases to be finalised. In many cases, further documentation is awaited from the REPS participant. Once the outstanding documentation has been furnished, processing of the remaining cases will be completed as quickly as possible.

Under the terms and conditions of REPS 4, all payments are made following initial administrative checks and, where appropriate, following an on-farm inspection. In second and subsequent years annual payments under the scheme also become subject to the participant providing an annual declaration of compliance with his or her agri-environmental plan. Under the terms and conditions of the scheme, it is the farmer’s responsibility to ensure required documentation for the release of payments for all years is submitted on time.

On the AEOS, total payments amounting to €25.67 million have been made to date in 2015. In 2014 there were 1,010 AEOS on-the-spot inspections undertaken. Almost 95% have been fully finalised, leaving just 5% outstanding. Payments for the finalised 2014 inspection cases commenced this week and every effort will be made to issue all outstanding payments for finalised inspection cases in the next few weeks. In many of the outstanding cases further documentation is awaited from the AEOS participant. Other outstanding 2014 inspection cases which have not received payments for the 2014 scheme year relate to administration issues with payments for previous years, which must be resolved before the 2014 inspection results can be finalised.

There is another issue I want to raise, but I will return to it when the Deputy has spoken.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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It probably relates to trees. The Minister can take it that this question has been raised by me with him. He might provide further clarification on that issue. Does he agree that it is vital that all outstanding cases are resolved? I hear what he is saying about outstanding documentation which obviously has to be submitted, but we need to finalise this issue because farmers are waiting for their cheques which are badly needed.

Once there is clearance it is important that the cheque issues within a week. If a PAYE worker was left waiting for his or her wages for months on end we would hear about it. It is the same for farmers; they need the money.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will see from those figures that the vast majority of cases have actually been paid and sorted out and that clarification is needed in about 5% or 6% of cases. Approximately 870 AEOS files are currently held for 2014 payment pending further processing due to a range of issues. Of those, approximately 400 have been subject to a Department review of the non-productive capital investment claims submitted by the applicants in 2014. That is the issue to which the Deputy has referred. This review identified irregularities with documentation submitted for reimbursement in some of these claims. A full Department investigation was then initiated which in turn led to the matter being referred to An Garda Síochána. Payments to applicants under review have been deferred pending the outcome of that investigation. My Department will be writing to all affected participants very shortly seeking further evidence to support their claim for payment in the amounts declared. Where satisfactory proofs are provided, payments will then be processed.

We have an awkward issue here where it looks as if people, essentially, were making claims that they were planting trees for which they were seeking payment. It looks as if some of those trees might not have been planted and that documentation was put in place that should not have been put in place. We have referred that issue to the Garda Síochána for a full investigation. As soon as that investigation is completed we will try to ensure that people who need to get paid are paid provided they have been compliant with the rules.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I have always taken a very different view where clearly there are misunderstandings and inadvertent mistakes made by people. I think we are over-strict on those. It would appear to me from what the Minister has said, in respect of 400 applicants in regard to some planting issue, that a high number of people have been involved in that type of error because I presume that not all that planting took place given the total number of AEOS applications. Is the Minister surprised that this question is so widespread and is affecting 400 farmers? Is there some explanation as to how it could affect so many farmers given that the Minister has said there may be some question that they did not do the planting which they said they did and for which they submitted documentation? I take it now that the matter has been referred to An Garda Síochána, there are serious concerns about the issue and that something systematic may be going on? Is that correct?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am reluctant to put details on the record when a Garda investigation is taking place. In essence, it is pretty close, I think, to what the Deputy is suggesting. I do not want to assume that anybody is guilty of anything-----

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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No, I did not say that.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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-----until we get the results of a full investigation. Clearly, we are sufficiently concerned that we referred the file to An Garda Síochána. Unfortunately for farmers, some have probably got caught up in this unfairly but it is very difficult for me to distinguish who they are. We will shortly write to the 400 people whose payments have been held up due to this investigation and if they can provide the proof that what they have claimed they have done has actually been done, payment will be made straightaway. We will deal with the Garda investigation when we get the results of it.