Jim Higgins
Ceist:151 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the reason for the delay in processing the application by a person (details supplied) in County Mayo for a farm retirement pension. [23245/99]
Written Answers. - Farm Retirement Scheme.
The person named applied for an early retirement pension on 29 April 1999. On examination of the file a query arose. The applicant's solicitors were requested to provide further details in relation to this query. To date, the requested information has not been supplied.
I would point out, however, that in no case does the processing time result in a financial loss to a retiring farmer. The operational procedures for the scheme specifically ensure that the date of receipt in the Department of a valid application determines the date from which payment is made.