Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the current staffing complement in the disadvantaged area scheme office; and if there is any plans to add additional staff to assist processing applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54741/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm that the vast majority of applications under the 2012 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme have been fully processed and that adequate staff resources are in place to deal with outstanding applications. Any delay in payment is not simply an issue of staff resources. It should be noted that many applicants that are fully processed are not yet currently eligible for payment under the Terms and Conditions of the 2012 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme. These applicants have yet to satisfy the six-month minimum stocking density requirement and/or the twelve-month annual average minimum stocking density requirement of 0.15 livestock units per hectare. Payments continue to issue each week as individual cases are confirmed eligible.