Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the details of the new agri-environment option scheme 3 will be available; the dates from which farmers can apply and the commencement date of the scheme; and when will the first payment be made under the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42189/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Details of the re-opened Agri-environment Options Scheme (AEOS) which I announced last week with funding of €20m will be available on the Department’s website in the next few days. The Terms and Conditions for the scheme will be largely similar to those of previous years. The closing date for applications is 30 November and my aim is to ensure that all applications are processed with a view approving the new participants in the scheme with effect from 1 April 2013. Under the EU Regulations governing this and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be completed before payment may issue. Subject to the completion of this process, I expect that payments under the re-opened scheme will commence at the end of 2013 or early 2014.