Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 1333: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason a person (details supplied) in County Galway has been unsuccessful in their efforts to get entitlements from the national reserve; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that this person has had the most horrendous human tragedies in their family; if her attention has further been drawn to the fact that their track record as a farmer has been second to none but due to deaths in their family they were unable to continue as a dairy farmer; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1420/07]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The person named submitted an application for an allocation of entitlements from the Single Payment Scheme National Reserve under Category C. The Single Payment Appeals Committee received the application on 24th November 2006.

Category C compensates those farmers, who as a consequence of their participation in a programme of conversion of production, have compromised their potential entitlement under the Single Payment Scheme.

The application was subsequently rejected on the basis that the person was not an active milk producer on the date his milk quota was sold. Records indicate that the person ceased supplying milk in 1998, which was prior to the reference period for the Single Payment Scheme. On this basis, he does not meet the criteria of a farmer who converted their enterprise to a farming sector for which direct premium payments would have been made during the reference period of 2000 to 2002. The Single Payment Appeals Committee upholds the decision of my Department to reject the appeal.