Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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668. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if an IT glitch occurred on his Department’s side when an application for a person (details supplied) in County Mayo was submitted resulting in this application being deemed as a draft submission; when will this matter will be rectified for this person; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3350/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy may be aware that on 15th June 2022, I announced the launch of the €56 million Fodder Support Scheme 2022, which aimed to incentivise farmers, in particular drystock farmers, to grow more fodder (silage and/or hay) for winter 2022. This is to ensure that Ireland does not have any animal welfare issue over this winter and the coming spring.

The online application system for the Fodder Support Scheme 2022 opened on 17th June 2022 and closed on 27th August 2022. My officials have examined the relevant records and have confirmed that a Draft Application for the Fodder Support Scheme 2022 was created by the herdowner concerned.

As part of the 2022 Fodder Support Scheme online application process, all applicants had to acknowledge that if they did not click the submit button at the end of the application, then they had not applied for the Scheme. All herd owners registered with the Department to receive text messages whose application was at "draft status" were contacted on the 28th of July 2022 to advise them and that further action was necessary to apply for the Scheme. This text message was sent to the person named but there is no record of him taking any further action in terms of submitting his application.