John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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193. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when farmers will receive the remaining 25% of the Agri-environment Options Scheme, AEOS, 3 payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31984/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Area-based schemes under the Rural Development Programme, 2007-13, are subject to EU Regulations which require detailed administrative checks on all applications, including cross checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, to be completed before payments can issue. These rigorous procedures, together with on-farm inspections, apply to a number of scheme payments including the Agri-environment Options Scheme (AEOS), and are necessary to ensure that applications meet the scheme conditions and cross-compliance requirements. In line with the governing Regulations, payments issue in two tranches, 75% payment and 25% payment. The administrative checks have been completed and 75% payments are well under way with payments issuing on a continuous basis until all payments are complete. It is anticipated that the balancing 25% payments will commence shortly, for all of those applicants whose files are in order.