John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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454. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if farm payments will be approved and paid in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny. [44471/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The person named commenced REPS 4 in January 2009 and received payment for the first four years of their contract. REPS 4 is a measure under the current 2007-13 Rural Development Programme and is subject to EU regulations which require detailed administrative checks on all applications to be completed before any payments can issue. Arrangements are well advanced to issue payments in respect of 2013 and I expect that these payments will commence in November.

An application under the 2012 Single Payment/Disadvantaged Areas Schemes was received from the person named in my Department on 22 March 2012. Full payment under the Single Payment Scheme has issued to the person named in respect of this application. The first instalment issued on 16 October 2012 and the balancing payment issued on 3 December 2012.

The person named is one of a number of applicants under the 2012 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme, whose cases were impacted upon by the requirement to have achieved a minimum stocking density of 0.3 livestock units per forage hectare, and who applied for and were refused derogation in this regard. The person named subsequently appealed unsuccessfully to the independently chaired DAS Appeals Committee who advised of the option to pursue the matter with the Office of the Ombudsman.