Tom Neville (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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432. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address a matter (details supplied). [11260/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The person named was a successful applicant under the Young Farmer Scheme in 2016.  The Terms and Conditions of the 2016 Young Farmers Scheme required the applicant to have completed the required educational qualification at FETAC Level 6 or equivalent, or have commenced the course leading to the required qualification on or before 16^thMay 2016.

In 2017 the person named applied for the ‘young farmer’ category of the 2017 National Reserve and also applied for continued participation in the Young Farmer Scheme in 2017.  The Terms and Conditions of the 2017 National Reserve required applicants to have completed the required educational qualifications at FETAC Level 6 or equivalent by 15^thMay 2017.  As the documentation submitted to my Department in support of the 2017 National Reserve application by the person named states that he will not have completed the required education course until May 2018, his application was deemed to be unsuccessful and he was notified of this decision in writing on 22^ndJune 2017 and was offered the opportunity to submit an appeal of this decision. All postal records held by my Department have been checked and there is no record of the letter of appeal dated 7^thJuly 2017 from the person named having been received by my Department.

My Department will now accept the copy of the letter provided as an appeal of the decision in relation to the 2017 National Reserve application.  The decision will be reviewed and my Department will notify the person named directly in writing of the outcome of his appeal.

As the 2017 Young Farmer Scheme application submitted by the person named was for continued participation in the scheme, my Department wrote to him in October 2017 to confirm that he was successfully progressing through his agricultural education course.  This is in line with Section 1.4 of the Terms and Conditions of the 2016 Young Farmers Scheme under which the person named had first been successful.  The required documentation was received by my Department on 12^thOctober 2017 and a letter confirming his acceptance under the 2017 Young Farmers Scheme issued to the person named on 13^thOctober 2017.