Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 296: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will receive their single farm payment. [46984/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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An application under 2010 Single Payment Scheme/Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on 6 May 2010. The 75% advance payment under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and the 50% advance payment under the Single Payment Scheme, which issued on 21 September and 18 October 2010 respectively, were on the basis of the land cleared at that stage, as a number of parcels declared required digitising.

Balancing payments under the scheme, would, in normal circumstances, be confined to those whose applications are fully processed, specifically, where all digitising is finalised. However, following recent consultation with the EU Commission, agreement was reached whereby, in addition to issuing balancing payments to those farmers whose applications are fully processed and whose maps are fully digitised, payments will also issue to those farmers where some or all of their maps are still to be digitised, with the payment being calculated on the basis of the digitised land confirmed otherwise eligible.

I am pleased to say that, because of this change, many farmers, including the person named, whose balancing payments would otherwise have been delayed until their digitising is complete, have now received an interim balancing payment; in the case of the person named, the interim balancing payment issued on 1 December. These farmers, including the person named, will receive the final instalment of their balancing payment when their maps are re-digitised and their applications are fully clear.