An application under the Single Payment Scheme/Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on the 21 April 2010. This application was selected for and was the subject of a Ground Eligibility and Animal Identification Inspection. The inspection process is complete and the results are now being processed. Under EU regulations governing the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and the Single Payments Scheme all Ground Eligibility Inspections must be completed before any payment can issue to any applicant under either scheme, including those not selected for a Ground Eligibility Inspection.
In 2010 some 3,500 farmers were selected for Ground Eligibility Inspections and all of these inspections were completed in advance of the first payments made under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and the Single Payment Scheme. A further 4,200 inspections were conducted by remote sensing without the need to visit the farm. In the vast majority of cases that were inspected amendments have had to be made to the maps in order that the Land Parcel Identification System that is used for making payments to farmers is kept up-to-date. Processing of these changes is continuing with priority being given to applications that were the subject of a Ground Eligibility Inspection.