asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will make a statement on the EEC calf subsidy payment in the first three months in 1984.

18.

asked the Minister for Agriculture when the EEC calf subsidy will be paid for calves which were inspected in late 1983.

19.

asked the Minister for Agriculture the up-to-date position regarding the £22 EEC calf subsidy for this year.

20.

asked the Minister for Agriculture if he intends to carry on the calf premium scheme after 1 April 1984.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 to 20, inclusive, together. Payment of premium on 1983 calves born on or before 15 June 1983 and inspected between July and November has now commenced. Because of the very large number of payments to be made, some 130,000, these will continue until the end of March.

Calves born in the second half of 1983 which were the subject of recent applications will be inspected over the next three months and payment of premium will be made in the July-August period.

Arrangements for calves born since 1 January 1984 and before the end of the current marketing year will be announced at a later date. Every effort will be made in the course of the EEC negotiations to have the calf premium scheme continued for a further marketing year.

Can the Minister of State give an assurance that the £22 calf scheme will continue this year?

As the Deputy is aware, there are negotiations taking place in Brussels and Paris and this topic is on the table. As it stands now, calves born on 1 January 1984 and up to the end of the marketing year will qualify for the calf premium under last year's scheme.

Can the Minister inform the House when final payments for all calves born in 1983 will be paid?

Six months must elapse between the inspection of the calf in question and the payment. Cheques for 1983 calves should be on their way in June, July and August 1984.

Does the Minister of State agree that payment of these subsidies has been slow? How many people per week or month are paid?

I do not agree that payment is slow. As regards the payment of livestock grants, 42,000 cattle headage cheques, 5,000 beef cow scheme payments, 28,000 first instalments of the 1983 ewe premium and a further 18,000 cattle headage and beef cow payments have to be made. That will give some idea of the volume of payments which have to be made in a given period, and I am happy to say that we are on schedule.

Are the Department and the Government really interested in continuing this scheme? Is there any danger that it might be dropped in our bargaining at these talks?

The Government are anxious to have a calf premium scheme in the year ahead. As the Deputy knows, all matters are now being negotiated.

Totally committed?