Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers currently in the rural environment protection scheme 4 and the agri environment schemes 1 and 2 schemes; the number that have received their 2012 payments; the reason for the delay in payment to farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14667/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Under the EU Regulations governing the scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check of all applications, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be completed before any payment can issue.

Successive EU audits have made it absolutely clear that compliance with the Regulations must be strictly adhered to and that all administrative checks must be passed and eligibility conditions met before payment issues. As a result, my Department is obliged to ensure that individual payments will not issue until all aspects of a farmer’s application are in order, all outstanding documentation provided and all queries resolved.

The table below displays the number of active participants in both the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) 4 and Agri-Environment Options Schemes (AEOS) 1 and 2 and the numbers in each scheme that have received payment for the 2012 scheme year.

Outstanding 2012 payments under both REPS and AEOS are largely due to unresolved queries associated with applications and where necessary officials in my Department will have contacted the applicants concerned with the intention of issuing payment as soon as possible.

I am conscious of the importance of these payments to farmers’ incomes and my Department is making every effort to assist farmers in regularising their applications and claims for payment. Additional resources have been assigned to dealing with all outstanding queries and payments will continue to issue on an ongoing basis as outstanding issues are resolved.