The farmer filed a complaint with the Ombudsman over the Department's decision not to allow him enter the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme (DAS) in 2014. Previous to his complaint, the farmer had appealed to the Agriculture Appeals Office, but this appeal was also rejected.

Background

In 2014, the farmer applied to enter the DAS on the basis that he had an equine breeding enterprise. Based on the size of his farm, he was required to keep seven equine animals on the farm throughout the year.

The farmer listed seven animals on his application but only six were accepted because one mare listed on the application did not comply with the terms of the scheme.

The farmer said that he had not sought the covering certificate from the stallion’s owner or registered the foal because of the cost

This particular term required that any mare over five years of age must have bred a foal in one of the years 2011, 2012 or 2013 and both mare and foal had to be registered with Weatherbys Ireland. However, the Department said there was no evidence that this particular mare had bred a foal in one of the relevant years.

Explanation

In explanation, the farmer said that this particular mare had bred a foal which had died two days after its birth in 2013. The farmer had then buried the foal on his farm without seeking a burial licence from the Department as required. The owner of the stallion from which the foal had been bred had not registered the covering of the mare either, so there was no evidence of the existence of the foal.

The farmer said that he had not sought the covering certificate from the stallion’s owner or registered the foal because of the cost. He supplied a letter from his vet confirming that he had attended a newborn foal in 2013 and a letter from the stallion owner that the mare had been covered in 2012.

During the course of the farmer's appeal, the Agriculture Appeals Officer had confirmed with the Department and Weatherbys that the applicant could have registered the foal as deceased.

Outcome

The Ombudsman found that as the foal had not been registered, the terms and conditions of the scheme had not been met and therefore the complaint could not be upheld.

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