Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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483. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht when he intends announcing the compensation package for farmers in the Twelve Bens and Maam Turk Mountains; the amount of the proposed compensation; if it will cover those who were in the NPWS scheme as well as those who were in REPS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23219/14]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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The 5 year grazing intervention in the 12 Bens/Garraun Complex and Maumturk Mountain Complex Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) ran from the 1 November 2008 until the 31 October 2013. This intervention ceased on 1 November 2013. An issue arose in relation to farmers who experienced a funding gap from the closing date for application to join AEOS 3 (7^thof December 2012) until the AEOS 3 contract commenced (1^stof May 2013). I have agreed to cover this funding gap. My Department has recently written to the 56 farmers who applied to join AEOS 3 and were accepted into that scheme. My Department will pay these farmers, upon receipt of a signed declaration, the amount accruing for this period had they been in approved AEOS 3 plan. These equates to €1,666 for each farmer who abided by the grazing intervention.

My Department has already fulfilled the financial commitments to all other farmers in the area who were in REPS or in the NPWS Farm Plan Scheme, upon receipt of the appropriate paperwork.