Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 June 2013
432. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding an agri-environment options scheme application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28766/13]
View answerAn application under the Agri-Environment Options Scheme from the person named was received in my Department on 27th November 2012.
The process of ranking and selecting all AEOS applicants was clearly set out in the scheme documentation. Acceptance into the scheme was established using the pre-determined selection criteria as follows:
1 farmers in the Boora region of Co. Offaly who chose Wild Bird Cover Option B (Grey Partridge) as one of their selected options,
2 farmers with a minimum of 0.5 hectares of designated land,
3 farm partnerships,
4 farmers who previously participated in REPS commencing with smallest farms, and
5 others based on farm size (again favouring smaller holdings).
As the available funding was used up in category 4 no farmers in category 5 were admitted. As the person named fell into category 5 he was unsuccessful. On 27th May 2013, a letter issued to the person named informing him that he was not successful and setting out the reasons.
