Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 25 Feb 1998

Vol. 487 No. 7

Written Answers. - Headage Schemes Deficiencies.

Proinsias De Rossa

Question:

212 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps, if any, he is taking to deal with the fraudulent abuses highlighted by the Comptroller and Auditor General in his evidence to the Committee of Public Accounts on 9 December 1997; the plans, if any, he has to increase the level of scrutiny of applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5107/98]

Minister for Agriculture and Food (Mr. Walsh)

In his report for 1996 the Comptroller and Auditor General highlighted a number of deficiencies in the overall control procedures associated with the operation of the headage and premia schemes by my Department. The main deficiencies highlighted were perceived to be: inadequate controls over cattle identity; inadequate controls over herdnumbers in the administration of payments; deficiencies associated with the introduction of the Land Parcel Identification System for 1995.

There is no evidence that the deficiencies highlighted led to fraudulent abuse of the scheme by farmers. The main thrust of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report related to the need to tighten up controls in specific areas.

In his replies to audit queries from the Comptroller and Auditor General and in his subsequent evidence to the Committee of Public Accounts the accounting officer of my Department outlined the steps which have been taken or which are to be taken to address the particular difficulties. In particular the accounting officer outlined the measures which had been taken to control payments since the introduction of the CAP reform arrangements with effect from 1993 including the increased reliance on information technology in the processing of payments. In so far as cattle identity is concerned my Department has complied fully with an EU directive on the identification and registration of bovine animals. A new cattle identification system was introduced in Ireland in 1996 in accordance with Council Directive 92/102. While not strictly required under the directive the system introduced in Ireland included a computerised birth registration system for all bovine animals. This database is now being used in the processing of headage and premium applications. My Department is in the process of introducing a computerised movement monitoring system in the context of the national beef assurance scheme. The CMMS will bring together all data relating to bovine animal events such as birth details, herd location at time of premium headage claim and of certain disease tests, slaughter or export details as well as information on movements between the various locations, in particular inter-herd movements. The redevelopment of my Department's accounts system is in progress including the introduction of a computerised client database, details of which were outlined to the Committee of Public Accounts. The introduction of the client database will address the difficulties highlighted with the current herdnumber based payments system.

A Land Parcel Identification System has been set up using mainly Ordnance Survey maps submitted by farmers showing their land parcels in 1993, 1994 and 1995. The intention was to capture on a computer database, and number uniquely, parcels of land which would have reasonably stable boundaries from year to year. It was never the intention that this exercise would be used to control 1995 area aid applications and the EU recognised that the task was so large that it could not be completed in time to be so used. The EU originally required all member states to have a land parcel identification system in place by 1 January 1996 but, recognising the problems facing member states, including Ireland, extended the implementation date to 1 January 1997.