Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 September 2013
85. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason inspectors inspecting cattle herds are obliged to inspect all the cattle in small herds and only a percentage in larger herds; his views on whether this is unfair to the owners of smaller herds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39545/13]
View answerMy Department, in the context of delivering the Single Payment Scheme, Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and other area related schemes, is required to carry out an annual round of inspections covering both the eligibility of the land declared to draw down payments and also cross compliance aspects, to ensure adherence with EU regulatory requirements in the areas of public, animal and plant health, environment and animal welfare and ensuring that the farm is maintained in good agricultural and environmental condition. The basis for these inspections is governed by EU legislation, in particular, Council Regulation (EC) 73/2009 and Commission Regulation (EC) 1122/2009, and there are certain minimum numbers and types of inspections that must be conducted each year. These inspections are a necessary requirement in order to draw down approximately €1.7 billion of EU funds annually and to avoid EU disallowances. My Department must therefore ensure that these inspections are conducted in full accordance with the legislative provisions.
EU legislation, governing Cattle Identification and Registration, requires that 3% of farmers must be inspected. This legislation also requires that all animals in a herd are checked, however by way of derogation sampling is allowed in herds of greater than 20 animals. My Department have availed of this option in order to reduce the workload on farmers in assembling all animals in larger herds for an inspection. This option also goes some way in reducing the length of time it takes to complete an inspection.
