John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

207. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a decision on an appeal will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41662/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The person named was a participant of the 2012 Beef Technology Adoption Programme. Participants were required to attend a prescribed number of discussion group meetings or approved national events, in addition to completing two tasks, chosen from a menu of eight designed to enhance on-farm efficiency. The broad range of available task options allowed participants to choose those best suited to the business needs and particular characteristics of their beef enterprises.

The person named did not qualify for payment because he failed to satisfactorily complete one of two selected tasks – the task related to the completion of a herd health plan in consultation with a veterinary practitioner. Participants who chose that task were required to join the Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) eradication programme, a condition of which was that herd owners had to submit tissue samples from all calves born on their holdings in 2012 to one of a number of designated laboratories. Task completion was verified by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) which maintains a database of laboratory results on behalf of Animal Health Ireland. Information received from ICBF indicated that the herd owner in question did not sample any animal born in 2012. While the calves born in 2012 were BVD-tested in January 2013, this does not meet the Task requirement for the 2012 Programme.

It is the responsibility of participants and their facilitators to familiarise themselves with the Programme Terms and Conditions and with the consequences for breaches of the rules. In applying for the BTAP, farmers undertook to comply with the Terms and Conditions of the Programme and accepted that failure to abide by the rules could result in a loss of payment. It was determined following appeal that the individual concerned failed to fully comply with the BTAP Terms and Conditions and, accordingly, no payment is possible in this case. The person named has been notified of the decision in writing.