I propose to take Questions Nos. 347 and 348 together.
The Biofuels Mineral Oil Tax Relief Scheme II was launched on 25 July 2006, with a closing date of 28 August 2006. The scheme was rolled out on a similar basis to the 2005 pilot scheme in that it was a competitive call for proposals comprising an open and transparent process in which the scoring mechanism was published as part of the application form and accompanying documentation. Following the launch of the scheme, an assessment panel was formed, comprising officials from my Department, Sustainable Energy Ireland and Enterprise Ireland. The scheme was the subject of a State Aids application which has been approved by the Commission. Under State Aids Rules the process must be open and fair and subject to single market rules.
There were 102 applications received under the Scheme. The range and quality of applications was exceptionally high and the panel was faced with difficult decisions across all four categories of biofuels. While the application in question was of very high quality, it did not score as highly as the successful applicants in the category. I understand that my officials met with the individual in question on Thursday 30 November 2006.