Tom Sheahan (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Question 21: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his attention has been drawn to the delays in processing REP scheme payments in the County Kerry area, with an estimated €8 million in outstanding payments to be processed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16893/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The processing of REPS 4 payments is governed by EU Regulations which require exhaustive administrative checks and on-the-spot inspections. In most parts of the country, the processing of payments is well advanced and the majority of participants have received their full payments for 2009. In a significant number of cases, however, the administrative checks raised issues and queries which required further detailed examination. My Department's staff have been working to resolve these as quickly as possible. Many of these cases require the 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 amended plans.

I am acutely aware of the situation in the Department's local offices in Kerry where, because of the Government's moratorium on recruitment and promotion in the civil service, two supervisory posts have been vacant and where, as a result, the processing of payments has been delayed. I am pleased to announce that my Department is now putting arrangements in place to resolve the situation. This will enable the processing of claims to proceed and for payments to issue without further delay.