Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 661: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make 80% of the advance single farm payment in October 2007, due to the increased costs incurred by farmers as a result of the bad weather. [20507/07]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I approached Commissioner Fischer Boel earlier this year, seeking her agreement to have payments made with effect from 16 October rather than 1 December as is provided for in the relevant EU regulations. While the Commissioner indicated that she could not agree to this request at this time, she did make it clear in her written response that she agreed with the need to work for greater simplification, proposing that the matter be further pursued in the broader context of the CAP Health Check, scheduled to commence later this year. The commitment by the Commissioner to pursue this matter is important to Ireland, as we will be seeking, as part of the Health Check negotiations, a change in the Regulations to provide for a Single Payment Scheme payment commencement date of 16 October.

I subsequently approached the Commissioner a second time, outlining the adverse weather conditions that pertained during June, July and August, which seriously affected farming. I was particularly conscious of the difficulties caused for farmers, with significant delays in production of winter fodder, fodder intended for use next winter being fed to animals and some animals being housed early, as land was too wet to graze. I am pleased to say that, in response to this approach, a proposal to provide for advance payments, at a rate of 50%, was unanimously approved by the Direct Payments Management Committee at its meeting last week.

Work in my Department is at an advanced stage to maximise the number of payments that will be made on 16 October and thereafter and, in this regard, I would urge any applicants who have received correspondence from the SPS Unit of my Department in relation to specific problems on their SPS applications, to reply to these letters immediately. Until such time as a given query is resolved, no payment can be made. I might add that the level of errors on this year's applications is much higher than might have been expected, with many applicants making minor errors. Each of these requires to be resolved in order to allow payment to issue.

In view of this, I have again arranged to have a series of Lo-call telephone numbers set up, to assist farmers who wish to contact the SPS Unit, in order to resolve outstanding queries. These numbers are as follows: 1890 252 235: Clare, Cavan, and Limerick; 1890 252 236: Cork, Westmeath; 1890 252 242: Kildare, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Waterford and Wicklow; 1890 252 243: Carlow, Kilkenny, Louth, Monaghan, and Sligo; 1890 252 244: Donegal, Dublin, Offaly and Wexford; 1890 200 502: Galway, Kerry, Mayo, Meath and Roscommon; and 1890 250 598: Tipperary.

In view of the high level of queries identified, however, it is likely that large numbers of farmers will seek to telephone the SPS Unit, particularly in the days immediately following the initial issuing of payments. Again, I would stress that these farmers should, in the first instance, ensure that they have adequately replied to any correspondence, which they have received from the Unit in relation to problems with their applications.