Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 81: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the EU Commission is seeking the publication of details of the 2007 payments to farmers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13063/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of the requirement to publish details of EU payments to farmers. Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 and its implementing regulations, require my Department, as the EU paying agency, to publish on its web site, commencing this year, certain details of beneficiaries of schemes funded or co-funded by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the European Agricultural Rural Development Fund (EAFRD). These regulations are directly applicable in all EU Member States and binding in their entirety. At the time I did not support this measure at EU level and sought the imposition of a threshold beneath which publication would not take place. My view, which I expressed strongly to the Commission was that this would better reflect the farming context in which the payments are made. However there was little support for this.

The details which will be published will be the beneficiary's name, the address line immediately preceding County on the Department's client database and payments funded or co-funded by the EAGF and/or EAFRD.

Details in respect of EAFRD expenditure between 1 January and 15 October 2007 must be published by Member States no later than 30 September 2008. This will cover payments made under the Rural Environment Protection, Early Retirement and Compensatory Allowance in Less Favoured Areas Schemes.

Details in respect of EAGF and EAFRD expenditure between 16 October 2007 and 15 October 2008 must be published no later than 30 April 2009. Publication of annual payments must take place no later than 30 April each year thereafter. This will include the schemes already referred to and also the Young Farmers' Installation Aid Scheme, the Farm Improvement Scheme, the Single Farm Payment Scheme, any residual coupled premia due to farmers in the relevant period, sugar restructuring payments, payments to fruit and vegetable producer groups and market support schemes such as market intervention and export refunds.

Officials of my Department are currently finalising the administrative arrangements for the implementation of these requirements, including the requirement to advise beneficiaries of the details to be published and of their rights under the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003.