Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 100: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will address the issue of farmers who have applied for the farm improvement scheme between 21 and 29 October 2007 and still have not been approved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11993/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Applications received under the Farm Improvement Scheme prior to its suspension for new applications on 31 October 2007 are being processed by my Department up to the level of funding provided for the Scheme in the 2006 Partnership agreement, Towards 2016.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 101: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the reason all REP scheme four farmers were not paid in 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11986/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The total number of applications for REPS 4 received in 2007 and 2008 was 12,292. As of today, REPS 4 payments have been made to 6,194 applicants or just over 50% of the total. These payments amount to some €20.5 million.

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 each year. The first payment, of 75%, could be made only when all administrative checks on all 2008 applications for REPS 4 and the Single Payment Scheme were completed. These included checks on areas and on the plan details. My Department's controls have to satisfy stringent EU regulatory and audit requirements.

Many REPS 4 plans were 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 not available until late autumn. However a substantial minority of plans submitted 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.

The first payments for 2008 REPS 4 applications issued in the last week of January 2009 to those whose applications required no correction following the administrative checks. Further payments continue to be made as applications are cleared.