Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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554. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an appeal under the national reserve scheme for a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21795/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The person named submitted applications under the ‘young farmer’ category of the 2015 National Reserve and the Young Farmers Scheme.  The Terms and Conditions governing the operation of these schemes state that in order to qualify as a ‘young farmer’, a person must be setting up an agricultural holding for the first time in his/her name or have set up such a holding during the five years preceding the first submission of the BPS application. The applications were not successful as the applicant was deemed to have commenced farming more than five years before the submission of a BPS application. The applicant was notified of this decision and was offered the opportunity to submit an appeal.

My Department subsequently received an appeal from the person named in relation to the National Reserve and Young Farmers Scheme applications. This appeal was considered based on the information set out by the applicant and the original decision was upheld. The person named was notified of the outcome of the appeal and offered the opportunity to submit a further appeal to the independent Agriculture Appeals Office.

The Agriculture Appeals Office is currently dealing with National Reserve and Young Farmer Scheme appeals cases and I have been informed that they will be in direct contact with the person named shortly with a view to arranging a date for an oral hearing of his case.