GLAS Eligibility

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 June 2015

Wednesday, 10 June 2015

Questions (93)

Seán Kyne

Question:

93. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a person (details supplied) will be considered for the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, having failed to make an application due to technical issues with the scheme's website; if the fact that the person's planner attempted to complete the application on time will be taken into account, considering that the person was in contact with his Department's information and technology section; his views that it is fair that the person is excluded despite repeated attempts to join; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22559/15]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

At the outset, I would like to note that almost 27,000 applications were submitted in the first tranche of GLAS applications, which is very much in line with the projections I made when launching the scheme. The online application system developed within my Department functioned extremely well but some issues did arise as can be expected with the roll out of any new IT system. Issues were dealt with as they arose but I am aware of a small number of cases, including the application of the person named, where it appears that attempts to submit valid applications before the scheme closed failed. My Department is examining this limited number of cases with a view to accommodating the farmers involved. However, this will only be possible where it can be clearly shown that it was not in fact possible to submit the application online.