Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 147: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the reason REP scheme four payments were not paid in 2008 and have been delayed until now; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4878/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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REPS 4 is a measure under the current Rural Development Programme 2007-13 and is subject to different EU Regulations from the preceding versions of REPS. Under REPS 4, all payments are to be made in just two instalments. The first payment, of 75%, can be made only when all administrative checks on all 2008 applications for REPS 4 and the Single Payment Scheme are completed. These include checks on areas and on the plan details and the controls have to satisfy stringent EU regulatory and audit requirements.

Many REPS 4 plans have been prepared using eREPS, the electronic planning system approved and funded by my Department. The information on these plans is in computerised format and it was necessary to develop an appropriate computer based control system for checking these plans. This was a lengthy process and the system was only available from late autumn. However a substantial minority of plans submitted this year were not prepared using eREPS. Administrative checks on these have to be done manually and are extremely time-consuming.

An effect of industrial action in my Department's local offices last year was that this process was delayed. In these circumstances my Department sought some flexibility from the European Commission which would have allowed payment of those REPS 4 cases which had been fully cleared, but the Commission were not prepared to allow this. The first payments for 2008 REPS 4 applications issued in the last week of January to those whose applications required no correction following the administrative checks. Further payments continue to be made as applications are cleared.