Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 147: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if expenditure to date in respect of farmer support payments is in line with or short of original projections; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2294/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 149: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the extent to which farmer support payments are up to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2296/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 147 and 149 together.

To date, over €828.490 million has been paid to farmers under the various 2004 livestock premium, arable aid and disadvantaged areas compensatory allowance schemes.

The payment targets set out in the protocol on direct payments to farmers are quite specific with regard to the premium and arable aid schemes and payments under these schemes commenced on the specified dates. For example, 60% advance payments under the 2004 suckler cow premium, special beef premium and slaughter premium schemes were due to commence on 16 October 2004 and, by 19 October 2004, 189,456 payments valued at over €223 million had issued to farmers under these schemes including national envelope payments.

The present position with regard to advance payments under these schemes is as set out in the following table:

Balancing payments under the special beef premium, suckler cow premium and slaughter premium schemes cannot commence until all applications are processed and the extent of any overshoot of the national ceiling for the special beef premium scheme and of the penalty, if any, to be applied in individual cases across all bovine schemes is known.

With regard to the ewe premium scheme, the protocol specifies that payment will commence on 16 October. Payments commenced under the 2004 scheme on 16 October and to date full payments amounting to over €101 million have been paid to 97% of all applicants. Payments under the 2004 disadvantaged areas compensatory allowances scheme commenced, as agreed with the farming bodies, on 19 September 2004. To date, 98% of applicants have been paid their full entitlements amounting to over €232 million. Payments under the 2004 arable aid scheme commenced on 16 November in line with the protocol commitments. To date, over 99% of applicants have received their full payments amounting to over €130 million.

Overall, the level of payments achieved to date displays my commitment to the early delivery of payments to farmers and is in line with the targets agreed with the farming bodies in the protocol on direct payments under the programme for prosperity and fairness.