Farm Inspections

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 June 2012

Thursday, 14 June 2012

Questions (25)

Michael Colreavy

Question:

25 Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farm inspections that have been carried out to date in 2012; if he will provide a breakdown by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28659/12]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney)

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.

Eligibility checks must be carried out on 5% of applicants. These checks are carried out to verify that the actual area claimed in the application form corresponds to the area farmed by the farmer and to ensure that any ineligible land/features are deducted. Up to two-thirds of these inspections are carried out without a farm visit as the information is verified using the technique of remote sensing via satellite.

The rate of inspections for cross-compliance is 1% of applicants to whom the Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) and Good Agricultural Condition (GAEC) apply. However 3% of farmers must be inspected under the bovine identification and registration requirements while 3% of sheep/goat farmers must be inspected covering 5% of the flock.

In 2010, in an effort to minimise duplication of farm inspections between the two Departments, my Department agreed to carry out some 1,600 nitrates inspections under the GAP regulations on behalf of the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government. This arrangement was retained in 2011 and will apply also in 2012.

I have set out in tabular form, data on the number of inspections conducted to date under the 2012 schemes:

County	No. of Inspections
Carlow	55
Cavan	138
Clare	120
Cork East	264
Cork West	327
Donegal North	71
Donegal South	187
Dublin	17
Galway East	203
Galway West	138
Kerry North	165
Kerry South	96
Kildare	62
Kilkenny	139
Laois	129
Leitrim	129
Limerick	240
Longford	65
Louth	31
Mayo North	159
Mayo South	109
Meath	143
Monaghan	176
Offaly	113
Roscommon	151
Sligo	78
Tipperary North	176
Tipperary South	227
Waterford	178
Westmeath	92
Wexford	196
Wicklow East	47
Wicklow West	19
Total	4,440

In addition my Department, carries out the inspections outlined under the Organic Farming Scheme and the Agri Environment Schemes.

In accordance with Art 12(1) of EU Regulation 1975/2006, which governs the Organic Farming Scheme, the number of inspections carried out each year shall cover at least 5% of all beneficiaries. To date 60 organic farms have been selected for inspection, as set out in the table below. A further 5% of new applications received by 15 May, 2012 will also be selected for farm inspection once approved for entry to the Scheme.

County	Organics
Cavan	2
Clare	3
Cork	8
Donegal	1
Galway	4
Kerry	2
Kildare	1
Kilkenny	4
Laois	3
Leitrim	6
Limerick	2
Longford	2
Meath	2
Monaghan	1
Offaly	3
Roscommon	4
Sligo	1
Tipperary	3
Waterford	1
Westmeath	5
Wexford	2
Total	60

My Department inspects 5% of REPS participants on an annual basis to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the REPS scheme. This year to date only 8 REPS inspections have taken place as set out below:

County	No. of Inspections
Cavan	1
Kerry	1
Donegal	4
Cork	2

My Department inspects 5% of applicants under the Agricultural Environment and Options Scheme (AEOS) to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the scheme. So far in 2012, my inspectors have inspected 329 farms, the breakdown of which is outlined in the table below:

AEOS 2 Inspections in 2012

County	Number
Carlow	1
Cavan	8
Clare	20
Cork	22
Donegal	22
Dublin	1
Galway	46
Kerry	27
Kildare	4
Kilkenny	14
Laois	6
Leitrim	9
Limerick	15
Longford	1
Louth	1
Mayo	33
Meath	5
Monaghan	6
Offaly	11
Roscommon	13
Sligo	10
Tipperary	30
Waterford	7
Westmeath	7
Wexford	7
Wicklow	3
Total	329