Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 193: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if a person (details supplied) in County Mayo has received all the payments they are due for the years 2001, 2002 and 2005, including area based payments, premia and SPS; the number of entitlements this person has; and the value of same. [25505/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Single Payment of each individual farmer consists on the average number of animals on which Livestock Premia and, where appropriate Arable Aid and Dairy Premium, payments were made in the 2000 to 2002 reference years. However, as the person named received no livestock premia during that period, he established no entitlements under the Single Payment Scheme. The person named submitted an application for an allocation of entitlements from the Single Payment Scheme National Reserve under Category B.

Category B caters for farmers who, between 1 January 2000 and 19 October 2003, made an investment in production capacity in a farming sector for which a direct payment under Livestock Premia and/or Arable Aid schemes would have been payable during the reference period 2000-2002. Investments can include purchase or long-term lease of land, purchase of suckler and/or ewe quota or other investments.

A formal letter setting out my Department's decision has issued to the person named and he has been notified that if he is dissatisfied with my Department's decision in relation to the National Reserve he now has the opportunity to appeal this decision to the Independent Payment Appeals Committee. An appeals applicationform is available from any of my Department'soffices or on the Department website atwww.agriculture.gov.ie. The person named also submitted an application to the National Reserve under the Hill Farmers Scheme, which caters for farmers with commonage land who were prevented from expanding their sheep production prior to or during the 2000-2002 reference period pending publication of the Commonage Framework Plans in 2002. This application has not yet been fully processed by my Department. A decision will issue to the applicant as soon as processing is completed.

The person named received payments due to him under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme in 2001, 2002 and 2005, but, these payments are do not constitute part of the Single Payment Scheme.