Written answers

Tuesday, 19 January 2010

Department of Agriculture and Food

Grant Payments

9:00 pm

Photo of Michael RingMichael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 979: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the reason an application for an allocation from the national reserve, under category D, offshore island farmers, was refused in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Mayo, in view of the fact that several of their neighbouring farmers in the same district electoral division were approved. [1889/10]

Photo of Brendan SmithBrendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The person named submitted an application under Category D of the 2007 National Reserve. This category catered for offshore Island Farmers whose existing Single Payment is less than €6,000 and where individual entitlements are less that the DED average. The person named did not qualify under this category, as she was not an offshore Island farmer – my Department's Local Office confirmed this.

The person named subsequently appealed my Department's decision on the basis that she lived in a Disadvantaged area and sheep farming was her main source of income. In all such cases, the procedure is that all contentions put forward in an appeal are firstly reviewed within my Department to see whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant any change to the original decision. In this case it was established that the person named could have applied for another category available under the 2007 National Reserve, namely Category C.

This category catered for certain sheep farmers for whom at least 40% of their Single Payment was derived from direct payments associated with sheep production (Ewe Premium/Rural Word Premium) during the reference period, their existing Single Payment is less than €10,000 and individual payment entitlements are less than the District Electoral Division (DED) average value. The maximum allocation under this category was €1,000.00.

The person named was deemed eligible for this category and received the maximum allocation of €1,000. A letter outlining this allocation was sent to the person named on 13 August 2008.

It should be noted however that the rules governing the single payment scheme stipulate that an applicant who is found to be eligible under more than one category in the National Reserve may only receive an allocation of entitlements under whichever category is most beneficial to him/her.

The person named submitted a further appeal on 27 August 2008 again with regard to Category D. My Department fully reviewed the case but there were no grounds for a change to the original decision in relation to Category D.

This case was then forwarded to the Independent Single Payments Appeals Committee who carried out a full review of the case. The Committee upheld the Department decision in relation to Category D stating that the person named did not qualify under this category.

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