Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an explanation for the line on the October 2012 Exchequer statement that refers to FEOGA Intervention and which is shown as a total receipt to the State of €720m to the end of October 2012, and if he will provide a statement on the derivation of the figure shown. [52452/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine must initially provide finance for payments under EU-funded schemes. Such expenditure is normally reimbursed by the European Commission two months later. The largest scheme, the Single Payment Scheme, is paid out in the final quarter of the year. In the last quarter of 2011, a total of €720m was borrowed by the Exchequer to fund EU payments and the receipts of €720m shown represents the repayment of the borrowed funds in January and February 2012 upon receipt of the EU funds.

Borrowings are undertaken under the provision of Regulation 6 of the European Communities (State Financial Transactions) Regulations 1972 (S.I. No. 329 of 1972).