Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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354. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applications were received for the Shannon Callows flood scheme 2023; the number of these were approved without appeal; the number of appeals taken against refusal for admission into the scheme; the number of appeals successfully awarded to applicants, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22123/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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Following exceptional flooding in the Shannon Callows during the summer of 2023, on the 7th of November 2023 the Shannon Callows Flood Scheme was announced as a once-off measure. The aim of the scheme was to support farmers who had lost fodder due to flooding in the region during summer 2023. Funding of approximately €800,000 was allocated allowing for a payment rate of €325 per hectare. LPIS parcels in the Shannon Callows determined to have been significantly impacted by my Department's Area Monitoring System must also have been claimed by farmers on their 2023 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application. This was subject to a minimum area affected of 1ha and a maximum of 15ha and only applied to lands within the Shannon Callows SAC.

My Department contacted the farmers that the Area Monitoring System (AMS) identified as having been significantly impacted by the flooding, providing them with a simple application form for them to sign and return if they wished to apply for the support. To receive payment farmers were asked to confirm they had lost fodder as a result of the exceptional flooding. The AMS examined satellite imagery from July to September 2023 as part of this process. A total of 230 expression of interest letters including the application form were issued on the 17 November 2023 and a further 47 expression of interest letters including the application form issued on the 7 December 2023, and payments subsequently issued to all eligible applicants. My Department has paid out €768,833 to date.

The table below sets out details: