John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 873: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she will report on the actions taken by her Department to resolve the issues regarding the farm of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny; if she will outline the co-operation given to date by the EPA and the advice the EPA has given to her Department regarding the same issues; if this person's entitlements will be increased and payments backdated to the date of their first formal complaint; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24837/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Following concerns expressed by a small number of farmers regarding animal production on individual farms in County Kilkenny and, in accordance with an established protocol, investigations involving a number of relevant agencies were commenced. Three interagency meetings have been held on this matter involving my Department, Teagasc, the former South Eastern Health Board, Kilkenny County Council and the EPA.

As the problem on the farm of the person referred to is complex, the approach has been to investigate as many factors as possible in a methodical, scientific way so that the most appropriate course of action can be pursued to try to identify the underlying cause. In so far as my Department is concerned the following has taken place: feed and water intake studies conducted by my Department's regional veterinary laboratory, Kilkenny and Teagasc and elective post morteminvestigations on a number of animals from the farm and numerous tests on live animals on the farm. The farmer concerned has been involved and kept fully informed of my Department's investigations at all times and while testing is near completion in respect of certain aspects of the investigation, personnel in my Department are drawing up herd health programmes in conjunction with the private veterinary practitioners acting for the farmer.

The EPA has carried out its own separate monitoring and will continue to monitor the situation and the farmer has met the EPA and was informed of its findings. As the EPA is an independent public body with direct responsibility for a wide range of functions, queries on tests carried out or its role in the investigation should be addressed directly to that body. The farmer concerned applied under the force majeure measure of the single payment scheme — Article 40 of Council Regulation, EC No.1782/2003, — and the case was deemed eligible. Production details for the years 1997 to 2002 were examined and a decision was made to base his entitlements on the year 2000 only and to exclude 2001 and 2002 from the calculation of his entitlements. This represents the most financially advantageous position and the farmer has been notified of this decision.