Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 545: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason for the delay in issuing approvals for forestry planting applications; the waiting time to process applications; if she will allow applicants to submit an amended single farm payment application form where lands are not planted due to delays in processing forestry applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26493/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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All afforestation approvals in respect of the current planting season have issued. Some delays in processing afforestation grant applications were encountered in the early part of the season, while a new computer system was being rolled-out, but steps were taken to minimise the impact of this. Applications took an average of twelve weeks to process.

In accordance with the provisions of Commission Regulation (EC) No 796/2004, the deadline for the submission of Single Payment Scheme applications is 15 May in any Scheme-Year or an earlier date if fixed by a Member State. The deadline for the submission of applications under the 2006 Single Payment Scheme in Ireland was 15 May 2006.

Farmers, who submitted their application by the deadline, were entitled to make amendments, including adding parcels or changing parcel usage, up to 31 May 2006 without incurring a penalty. Furthermore, such farmers could also have made amendments between 1 June and 9 June 2006 and be subject to a 1% per day penalty on the monies due on the parcel added. Under the provisions of the relevant Regulation, it is not possible to submit amendments involving the declaring of additional eligible hectares of changing the use of ineligible hectares to eligible (from forestry to forage, for example) after that date.