Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 February 2012
588 Deputy Noel Coonan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the fact that re-inspection of commonage areas in County Galway to determine their forage area is currently being carried out on land prone to seasonal flooding and on land that is currently flooded; his views that this exercise can be perceived as poor value for money at a time of austerity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10751/12]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that the Single Payment Scheme, Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and other area-based schemes, are fully and partially funded by the European Union. The relevant Competent Authorities in each Member State are obliged to ensure that the requirements of the governing EU Regulations are observed and that only valid applications that fully comply with the requirements are paid. The administration of these Schemes in each Member State is subjected to close scrutiny by officials of the EU Commission and the EU Court of Auditors to ensure that the regulatory requirements are met and that the Schemes are applied in a uniform manner across the European Union.
The requirements provide that payments under the Single Payment Scheme and Disadvantaged Areas Scheme may be made only in respect of eligible land. Applicants under these Schemes are obliged annually to declare the land parcels available to them. The details of the eligible area of the land parcels are recorded on the Department's Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) and the Department continually monitors details of the use and area claimed for each of some one million parcels on the LPIS system.
My Department, in the context of delivering the Direct Payments Schemes, is required to carry out annual inspections covering land eligibility and cross compliance to ensure compliance with EU regulatory requirements. The value of these schemes to Irish farmers is €1.8bn annually. It is therefore incumbent on my Department to ensure that the regulatory control environment is comprehensively implemented to avoid EU disallowances.
