Written answer
Fuel Prices
The Minister said Offaly farmer and contractor figures were combined, with payments ongoing; claims under 1,200 litres were ineligible, while national averages were €600 for farmers and €4,000 for contractors.
302. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of agricultural and forestry contractors based in County Offaly who applied for support under the 2026 fuel income support scheme; the number approved; the total value of payments approved and paid; and the average and highest individual payments made to qualifying contractors, in tabular form. [66284/26]
Comment on this
303. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers in County Offaly who applied for support under the 2026 fuel income support scheme; the number approved; the number refused or deemed ineligible; the total value of payments approved and paid to farmers in County Offaly; and the average payment per successful applicant, in tabular form. [66283/26]
Comment on this
I propose to take Questions Nos. 302 and 303 together.
The Fuel Income Support Scheme was introduced as a targeted income support to assist farmers and agricultural/forestry contractors facing unprecedented increases in fuel costs.
The table below sets out the total number of applicants under the scheme in County Offaly and the total number of payments to date (September 15th). The figures represent both farmer and contractor applications. It is not possible at this point to give a detailed breakdown between farmers and contractors.
Nationally over 3,800 applicants are not eligible to receive payment as their claim was less than 1,200 litres and hence are below the minimum threshold for payment (€100). The maximum payment under the scheme was €50,000.
The average payment for farmers nationally is approximately €600 and for contractors it is approximately €4000.
Incomplete payments are due to a number of issues. For certain cases my Department is waiting on further information from applicants to allow them to be set-up on payment systems or a request has been made for further evidence, for example fuel receipts. As information is supplied cases are being cleared and payments will continue to be made on a weekly basis. There are also a number of cases where my Department has received information and is in the process of finalising payments.