Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a decision will be made on a disadvantaged area scheme in respect of a person (details provided) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57363/12]

Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a decision will be made on an appeal for derogation in respect of a person (details provided) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57366/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 234 and 235 together.

An application under the 2012 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on 13 April 2012. There are currently two outstanding issues preventing payment.

The first relates to the DAS derogation procedure under which an application was unsuccessful. In accordance with usual practice, the applicant was offered the option to appeal to the independently chaired DAS Appeals Committee. To date, this option has not been availed of. Should the applicant choose to appeal, it will be referred to the DAS Appeals Committee.

In addition, a further condition of the Scheme has not been satisfied, at this stage, in regard to inclusion of equines for the purposes of meeting the minimum stocking density requirement. The Terms and Conditions governing the Scheme require, inter alia , that in order for equines to be eligible, they must be in a registered breeding enterprise and meet certain qualifying criteria. The person concerned has already been advised by my Department of the outstanding matters in regard to stocking density. Once it has been established that this requirement has been satisfied, the application concerned can be further processed with a view to payment.