Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 240: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number and value of farm payments owed to farmers on a county basis throughout the country at the present time; when such payments are likely to be made in full; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17298/10]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 245: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the advice that he plans to offer the farming community suffering hardship due to delay by his Department in making farm payments; when he proposes to address this issue and bring payment fully up to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17302/10]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 248: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his attention has been drawn to the hardship caused to the farming community by the failure of his Department to make farm payments promptly; the action he proposes to address the issue in the short term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17303/10]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 249: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when it is expected that all payments due to farmers currently delayed in his Department for whatever reason are likely to be paid in full; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17304/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 240, 245, 248 and 249 together.

There are no appreciable delays in issuing payments to farmers under the various schemes operated by the Department with the exception of the REPS scheme and the Young Farmers Installation Scheme.

In the case of REPS, in meeting the requirements of EU regulations, applications for payments have to go through an exhaustive series of administrative checks before payment can be released. In a significant number of cases, those checks raised issues and queries, which required further detailed examination. The Department's staff are working to resolve these as quickly as possible. Many of these cases require applicants' planners to amend the farm plans that were submitted originally. The applicants concerned have been made aware of the position and the applications will be further processed without delay on receipt of the amended plans.

In a small number of local offices, the processing of payments have been delayed by staffing issues arising from the moratorium on recruitment and promotions in the public service and the Department is attempting to resolve these issues. I would point out that out of the 29,376 farmers due payment under REPS 4, 100% payments have issued to over 21,000 farmers as of 23rd April, with a further 1,342 payments issuing this week.

Due to the redeployment of relevant staff on to the checking of REPS applications, delays have occurred in the processing of grant applications under the Young Farmers' Installation Scheme. However, arrangements have now been put in place to expedite the processing of these applications and the delays concerned should be eliminated in the very near future. It is not possible, within the timescale available, to provide details of the outstanding payments for these Schemes on a county basis.

I should point out that the payments under the 2009 Single Farm Payments scheme began issuing on 16th October 2009 a full six weeks earlier than provided for under the rules of the scheme. In respect of both the Single Farm Payment and the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme, full payments have issued to all Scheme applicants, other then those subject to appeal or outstanding query. A small number of payments are also outstanding in cases where the applicant is now deceased and the necessary legal formalities have yet to be completed.