Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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452. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a basic payment scheme review for a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8590/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The person named submitted an application on 11 April 2017 under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).  In order to qualify for payment under the BPS an applicant must have an eligible hectare of land in respect of each entitlement held. 

This Department actively investigates incidents of illegal burning using satellite imagery.  Where land has been burned between the period of 1 March and 31 August of any given year it is not eligible for payment under the BPS.   

As part of this process, parcels declared by the person named on his 2017 BPS application have been identified as having been burned outside of the permitted timeframes.  Accordingly over-claim(s) arose as the area declared on the 2017 application of the person named was greater than the maximum eligible area of the parcel(s) determined by my Department. My Department has processed the 2017 BPS payment in this case, based on the reduced area on the over claimed parcel(s).

The person named was also written to by my Department on 6 December 2017, outlining his current 2017 BPS application position and the options available to him in relation to the over- claimed parcels, including the right to seek a review.  To date there is no record of a request for a review from the person named. Should the person named seek a review, he should ensure that he submits any supporting documentation which he deems relevant.  Any such submission will be reviewed accordingly by my Department.