Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 7 Mar 2002

Vol. 550 No. 2

Written Answers. - Land Reclassification.

Michael Creed

Question:

155 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the number of farmers written to in respect of the audit of the 2001 arable aid scheme and conflicts emerging between his Department's land parcel identification scheme and applications made under the arable aid scheme; his views on whether this is reasonable in view of the additional bureaucracy that it obliges farmers to respond to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7560/02]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (Mr. Walsh):

In accordance with EU regulations, arable aid may be paid to producers who produce arable crops on eligible land. Arable aid may also be paid on eligible land which is set-aside in accordance with the terms of the arable aid scheme.

Under these regulations, eligible land is land which, on 31 December 1991, was not under permanent pasture, was not under permanent crops or trees, or was not used for non-agricultural purposes. Permanent pasture is land used for grass production for five years or more at 31 December 1991. Accordingly, the land had to be in tillage at some stage in the period 1 January 1987 to 31 December 1991.

All payments issued by my Department are subject to checks and audits. This is an essential aspect of the control measures to ensure that expenditure of public moneys is accounted for correctly. In this context, an audit was carried out on the payments made under the 2001 arable aid scheme, the total value of which was €130 million. The purpose of the exercise was to ensure that arable aid was paid on land that met the eligibility criterion set out. As a result it was necessary to write to some 5,000 applicants to clarify the question of eligibility. My Department is examining each response on its individual merits, taking account of the supporting documentation submitted and, where appropriate, by reference to archived satellite imagery. Where it is established that the land parcel(s) identified by the audit are eligible, this will be input onto the land parcel identification system.

In view of the very considerable sums of money involved in direct payments to arable farmers, there is an onus on everybody to ensure that the benefits to the applicants are maximised, that avoidable penalties are not incurred and that there are robust and effective controls in place to ensure full accountability in the expenditure of public moneys.