Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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106. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when approvals will issue to farmers who applied for the national reserve's young farmers top-up and for the Scottish derogation; when payments will issue; the number of applicants received, and the estimated expenditure by category; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41916/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department received some 7,000 National Reserve applications, 8,500 Young Farmers Scheme applications and 3,500 Scottish Derogation applications in 2015.

Processing of National Reserve, Young Farmers Scheme and Scottish Derogation applications is ongoing. In order to finalise processing under these Schemes many related issues pertaining to registration of herd numbers, land parcel identification, entitlement registration, agricultural education and off farm income details need to be verified for applicants. My Department has issued letters to applicants requesting additional documentation in relation to their applications. A large number of applicants have yet to respond and these cases cannot be fully processed until replies are received. It is expected that approvals will issue and payments will be made after Basic Payment Scheme balancing payment in December.

The National Reserve fund in 2015 is based on 3% of the Basic Payment Scheme financial ceiling, which is estimated at providing approximately €24 million in funding. An additional funding of €24 million is also available under the Young Farmers Scheme for 2015. Funding for the Scottish Derogation is financed mainly from the Basic payment scheme and 2,800 applications have been processed to date at a cost in 2015 of €550,000 from that ceiling and these farmers have been notified accordingly. A small number of Scottish Derogation applicants who did not submit a 2013 Single payment scheme application will be financed from the National Reserve.

It is not possible to provide detail of expenditure under each of the listed Schemes until all processing has been finalised.