Vol. 557 No. 6
91 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when approval will be given to an application for the early retirement scheme by a person (details supplied) in County Carlow; and if the application will be expedited in view of the delay in reaching a final decision. [23073/02]
The application by the person named, which was received in my Department on 27 May 2002, was rejected on the grounds that one of the proposed farming transferees was ineligible. He appealed the decision to the agriculture appeals office and his appeal was allowed. The appeals office notified my Department of the decision by letter dated 15 November and on 18 November my Department wrote to the person named inviting him to resubmit his application. When the completed application is received it will be processed as soon as possible and in any event within the timeframe laid down in the protocol on direct payments to farmers. The date the first application was received, 27 May 2002, will be retained for the purposes of determining eligibility.
