Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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227. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when persons (details supplied) in County Wexford will receive the balance of a payment under the basic payment scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4112/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The persons named submitted a 2015 Basic Payment /Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme application on 27 May 2015. EU Regulations governing the administration of these schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including in some cases on-farm or remote sensing (i.e. satellite) inspections, be completed before any payments issue. The application of the person named was selected for a remote sensing inspection and also a Bovine Animal Identification and Registration inspection. The cross compliance inspection identified breaches in relation to cattle identification and registration requirements resulting in a 3% penalty being recorded against the 2015 payments. The persons named were notified of this decision on 4 June 2015. The remote sensing inspection identified discrepancies between the areas declared and the area found resulting in an over-declaration in area of under 3% and under 2ha. Under the Terms and Conditions of the Basic Payment Scheme this results in payment being based on the area found. Partial payment due on this basis issued to the nominated bank account of the persons named on 14 January 2016. The persons named were notified of this decision on 22 December 2015. The person named was also notified of the right to seek a review of these decisions. To date no request for a review has been received by my Department. In the event that the person named is dissatisfied with the outcome of any such reviews the decision can be appealed to the independent Agriculture Appeals Office, within 3 months.

Furthermore, the persons named established Entitlement Allocation Rights under the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme. They formed a registered farm partnership, and submitted an application on behalf of the farm partnership under the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme.

A farm partnership is a legal business arrangement where two or more individuals come together combining their respective resources to achieve mutual benefits. Members of a farm partnership who own individual sets of entitlements receive a combined payment. It is therefore incumbent that my Department identifies and ensures that entitlements held are licensed for use in the partnership. Consequently, should the partnership dissolve the entitlements return to the relevant owners. My Department has established a robust procedure to ensure the implementation and integrity of this identification process.

Processing of this application has recently been finalised, and an additional payment will issue to the nominated bank account of the Farm Partnership concerned shortly.