John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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188. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the criteria used in selecting applicants for agri-environment option scheme 3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28111/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The closing date for receipt of AEOS III applications was Friday 7^th December 2012 and 9,703 applications were received by my Department. The detailed actions listed in each application have been recorded and the pre approval validation checks have been carried out in respect of each application.

The approval of applicants was determined by the following priority selection criteria:

- Applicants within a targeted area of the Boora region of Co. Offaly who select Wild Bird Cover Option B (Grey Partridge) will get first access,

- Applicants with eligible Natura land will get access next,

- Applicants with at least 0.5 hectares of Utilisable Agricultural Non-Natura Commonage land rank next,

- Farm Partnerships,

- Previous Participation in REPS,

- Farm Size (Favouring smaller holding) based on the utilisable agricultural area,

- Location of farms in Less Favoured Areas.

Approximately 4,500 applicants selecting Grey Partridge, Natura and Commonage actions were approved into the scheme and the remaining 1,500 applicants selected had all previously participated in REPS and had a reference area of 22.06 ha or less on their 2012 Single Payment Scheme application.

John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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189. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the criteria used in each county for selecting applicants for the agri-environment option scheme 3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28112/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The approval of applicants was determined by the following priority selection criteria:

- Applicants within a targeted area of the Boora region of Co. Offaly who select Wild Bird Cover Option B (Grey Partridge) will get first access,

- Applicants with eligible Natura land will get access next,

- Applicants with at least 0.5 hectares of Utilisable Agricultural Non-Natura Commonage land rank next,

- Farm Partnerships,

- Previous Participation in REPS,

- Farm Size (Favouring smaller holding) based on the utilisable agricultural area,

- Location of farms in Less Favoured Areas.

Approximately 4,500 applicants selecting Grey Partridge, Natura and Commonage actions were approved into the scheme and the remaining 1,500 applicants selected had all previously participated in REPS and had a reference area of 22.06 ha or less on their 2012 Single Payment Scheme application.

John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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190. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the main reasons applicants for the agri-environment option scheme 3 were ruled invalid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28113/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Despite the challenging budgetary constraints facing my Department, last year I allocated €20 million annually to fund the Agri Environment Options Scheme III. I decided on a maximum payment of €4,000 per annum for individual applicants which allowed for 6,000 new participants to be accepted to the scheme.

The approval of applicants was determined by the following priority selection criteria:

- Applicants within a targeted area of the Boora region of Co. Offaly who select Wild Bird Cover Option B (Grey Partridge) will get first access,

- Applicants with eligible Natura land will get access next,

- Applicants with at least 0.5 hectares of Utilisable Agricultural Non-Natura Commonage land rank next,

- Farm Partnerships,

- Previous Participation in REPS,

- Farm Size (Favouring smaller holding) based on the utilisable agricultural area,

- Location of farms in Less Favoured Areas.

Approximately 4,500 applicants selecting Grey Partridge, Natura and Commonage actions were approved into the scheme and the remaining 1,500 applicants selected had all previously participated in REPS and had a reference area of 22.06 ha or less on their 2012 Single Payment Scheme application. The remaining 3,350 applications were unsuccessful in the selection process as the applicant had never previously participated in the Rural Environment Protection Scheme or if they had their farm size was in excess of the limit, as determined by the selection process, of 22.06 hectares. In addition, 349 applications did not meet the basic scheme eligibility criteria and were therefore excluded from the selection process.