Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 324: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food further to Parliamentary Question No. 104 of 28 October 2010, when a person (details supplied) will receive payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46027/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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An application under the 2010 Single Payment Scheme/Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on 5 May 2010. Payments under the 2010 Single Payment Scheme and Disadvantaged Areas Scheme have commenced nationally on 18 October 2010 and 22 September 2010 respectively. The application from the person named was submitted with land parcels identified as requiring re-digitisation. My Department has now completed this process.

The advance and balancing payments under the Single Payment Scheme were made to the person named on 18 October 2010, 8 November 2010 and 2 December 2010 respectively. Payments under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme were made to the person named on 21 September 2010 and 11 November 2010. The person named has now been paid in full under both Schemes.

James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 325: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the reason for the delay in paying disadvantaged and single farm payments in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46158/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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An application under the 2010 Single Payment Scheme/Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on 17 May 2010. Payments under the 2010 Single Payment Scheme and Disadvantaged Areas Scheme have commenced nationally on 18 October 2010 and 22 September 2010 respectively. The application from the person named was submitted with land parcels identified as requiring re-digitisation. My Department has now completed this process. Balancing payments due under both Schemes will issue shortly to the applicant.

James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 326: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the reason for the delay in paying disadvantaged and single farm payments in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46159/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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An application under the 2010 Single Payment Scheme/Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on 17 May 2010. Payments under the 2010 Single Payment Scheme and Disadvantaged Areas Scheme have commenced nationally on 18 October 2010 and 22 September 2010 respectively. The application from the person named was submitted with land parcels identified as requiring re-digitisation. My Department has now completed this process. Balancing payments due under both Schemes will issue shortly to the applicant.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 327: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will receive payment in respect of their REP scheme 4 application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46184/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The EU Regulations governing REPS 4 and other area-based schemes provide that payments issue in two instalments. The first instalment of 75% may be paid once all administrative checks on all applications, as well as cross-checks against areas declared on Single Payment Scheme applications, have been completed. This process is underway and my objective is to make all payments for 2010 as soon as possible. The balancing payment of 25% can issue once all on-the-spot inspections for the year have taken place and these will be completed shortly.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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Question 328: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of Kerry farmers who have received direct farm payments and the amount provided in total to them; the number of outstanding payments to Kerry farmers still to be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46218/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I can confirm that the balancing payments under the 2010 Single Payment Scheme began issuing on 1 December, in line with the very ambitious payments targets I set for my Department in early October. Payments under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme have been ongoing since they commenced on 22 September. I am confident that, by year-end, payments to farmers nationally will have exceeded €1.35 billion under the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) and the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme (DAS).

In relation to Kerry the position under the Single Payment Scheme is that there were 7,501 eligible applicants. To date 6,632 applicants have been fully paid and 507 applicants partially paid. Total payments under the Scheme to date are in excess of €51.5 million. As regards the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme, the position is that 7,081 applicants have been paid over €16.74 million and there are a further 846 applicants awaiting payment, many of whom are currently not eligible for payment as they do not meet the minimum stocking requirement of 0.15 livestock units per hectare.

I can confirm that every effort is being made to clear remaining cases for payment at the earliest possible date and, to this end, payment runs continue to be made on alternate days, between the two Schemes.

Ulick Burke (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 329: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when a person (details supplied) in County Galway will receive their single farm payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46305/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has no record of having received a 2010 Single Payment Scheme application from the person named. An official from my Department has made direct contact with the person named with a view to resolving this issue.

An application was received on 17 May 2010 requesting the transfer of 13.07 Single Payment entitlements to the person named from another farmer by way of lease ending in 2015. The lease/rent of entitlements is only permitted if accompanied by the lease/rent of an equal or greater number of net hectares of eligible land. As a valid Single Payment Scheme application has not been received from the person named, it has not been possible to confirm the leased land parcels and number of hectares that accompany these entitlements. Consequently this application cannot be processed.