Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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473. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the severe hardship caused to many family farm households due to delays in issuing payments such as single farm payment and disadvantaged area scheme payments; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that many applicants who had an on-farm or satellite inspection as far back as May/June 2014 are still awaiting finalisation of application and payments; if he will outline the measures being taken to ensure that there are no further delays in having payments issued; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42193/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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EU Regulations governing the administration of the Single Farm Payment/Disadvantaged Areas Schemes, and other area based schemes, require that full and comprehensive administrative eligibility checks, including in some cases either Ground or Remote Sensing (satellite) inspections, be completed before any payments issue. Eligibility checks are required to ensure that the actual area claimed in the application form corresponds to the area farmed by the applicant, that there are no dual claims of land and that ineligible land or features are not included for aid purposes. Both the administrative and inspections checks ensure that the Land Parcel Identification System, underpinning the direct aid payments worth in excess of €1.5 bn annually, is accurately maintained. In addition, these checks are required to protect the annual drawdown of the EU funds and to avoid disallowances.

My Department is required to carry out an annual round of inspections, both in the field and by means of Remote Sensing, to ensure the eligibility of land declared to drawdown payments. The basis of these inspections is governed by EU legislation and there are minimum numbers that must be conducted each year. Land eligibility checks must be carried out on at least 5% of applicants. In response to concerns about the impact of on-the-ground inspections on farmers, some 85% of the required 2014 inspections are initially being carried out without the need for a farm visit as the information needed is acquired using the technique of remote sensing via satellite.

In relation to Remote Sensing inspections, the EU regulations also require that where it is not possible to make an accurate determination on the eligibility of a parcel or parcels of land by means of an assessment of the available satellite imagery, a field inspection must be undertaken to verify the eligibility of the land. My Department continues, on a daily basis, to process applications to finalisation, including those subject to inspection, with the intention of issuing any outstanding payments due as soon as possible.

To date advance payments amounting to €531.7m have issued to 111,805 applicants under the 2014 Single Farm Payment, with €175.5m having issued to 83,226 a pplicants under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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474. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payment will issue under the 2014 disadvantaged area based scheme and single farm payment scheme in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; the reason for the delay in issuing this payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42244/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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An application under the 2014 Single Payment/Disadvantaged Area Scheme was received in my Department from the person named on 2 May 2014. Following initial processing, overclaims were discovered in respect of two land parcels. The appropriate query letter issued to the person named following which the person named contacted my Department and accepted the overclaims. The application was then processed on this basis and payment under the Single Payment Scheme issued, less the appropriate reduction penalty, directly to the nominated bank account of the person named on 31 October 2014.

Processing of the 2014 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme application revealed issues relating to the verification of compliance with the minimum stocking density. In this case the conditions for minimum stocking density have not been met. However, further correspondence in respect of this has been received from the Deputy and an official from my Department is currently reviewing the application. Once this review is finalised the person named will be notified directly, in writing, of the outcome.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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475. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payment will issue under the 2014 disadvantaged area based scheme and single farm payment scheme in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; the reason for the delay in issuing this payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42245/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The person named submitted a 2014 Single Payment /Disadvantaged Areas scheme application on 4 May 2014. As the person named does not hold any Single Payment entitlements he therefore is not eligible for payment under this Scheme.

Payment under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme has not yet issued to the person named as, at this stage, the holding concerned has not yet satisfied the Scheme minimum stocking density requirements. Immediately the holding concerned is confirmed as having met these requirements, the case will be further processed with a view to payment issuing to the person named at the earliest possible date thereafter, provided all other Scheme requirements have been satisfied.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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476. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) in County Roscommon will receive a payment; the reason for the delay when changes to maps were provided in May 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42261/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The person named applied for the Single Payment and Disadvantaged Areas Schemes on 13^thMay 2014. Processing of the Single Payment Scheme and Disadvantaged Areas Scheme applications of the person named has recently been finalised. Payments will issue shortly directly to the nominated bank account of the person named.