Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour)
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261. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the 2014 agri-environment options scheme 2 payments will issue to farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45844/14]

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. All checks are now complete and AEOS 2 payments in respect of the 2014 scheme year will commence shortly.