Out of the 33 farmers that the Department has been liaising with in relation to ineligible burnt land, 29 have lodged appeals.

Twenty-four of the appeals have now been decided, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed said in response to a parliamentary question from Eamon Scanlon.

“Twenty-four of the appeals have now been decided, and my Department has communicated these decisions directly to the farmers concerned and advised them of their right of appeal to the Agriculture Appeals Office. A further five cases remain under review,” Creed said.

Where the area determined to have been burned exceeds 3% of the eligible area declared, an administrative penalty of 1.5 times the area burned is applied. Where the applicant provides appropriate evidence that he/she was not involved in the burning of the effected lands, the administrative penalty may be waived. However, the burnt land remains ineligible for payment.

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