Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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187. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the reason a person (details supplied) in County Wexford was not successful in a recent application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16715/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector is intended to assist development of the horticulture sector, including beekeeping, by grant aiding capital investments in specialised plant and equipment as well as emerging technologies specific to commercial horticulture production. The Scheme aims to facilitate environmentally friendly practices, promote the diversification of on-farm activities, improve the quality of products and improve working conditions.

As the funds available under the Scheme are limited, proposed investments are in competition with each other for the grant-aid available. The 2015 Round of the Scheme was heavily oversubscribed with applicants seeking in excess of €8.5m when the approved 2015 budget for the Scheme was €4.2m.

In light of this, each individual proposed investment was assessed on its merits by a Selection Committee established to award funding. The Selection Committee had to decide which horticulture specific investments would make the strongest contribution to Scheme objectives within the available budget.

Regretfully, the applicant was advised by letter on 20 April 2015 of the reason why his application was unsuccessful for funding, i.e. that the tractor sought was not deemed to be a sufficiently horticulture-specific piece of equipment to justify funding under the Scheme.

It has been the Department’s policy to confine grant aid to specialised horticultural machinery.