Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 October 2013
178. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the exact percentage of the number of persons that have had their area aid cut due to discrepancies following on from their land being digitised (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42923/13]
View answerThe Deputy will be fully aware of the importance of payments made under the Single Payment Scheme, the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and other Direct Payment Schemes to the annual income of Irish farmers. My Department is bound, under EU Regulations, to maintain the accuracy the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS), which underpins the processing of applications under these Schemes as well as REPS and AEOS.
At the start of each year, my Department issues colour maps of all land parcels declared by farmers in the previous year together with a covering letter. In that letter, farmers are reminded to examine each map carefully and to identify and exclude from their application all ineligible features such as buildings, farmyards, scrub, roadways, forests, lakes etc. included in the land parcels. There is, therefore, an onus on all farmers to ensure that the area of land declared by them as eligible for payment under the Direct Payment Schemes is accurate. These requirements are also made clear in the Terms and Conditions of the Schemes, which accompanies the pre-printed application form issued to all farmers at the commencement of the application period each year. In view of the size and structure of farm enterprises in Ireland, farmers are fully aware of all of the non-eligible areas of their holdings.
In addition to any changes submitted by farmers, in order to insure the integrity of the LPIS, and in line with the EU conditions governing the payment of funds, my Department continuously reviews the eligibility of lands claimed by farmers for the Single Payment Scheme and other Direct Payment Schemes.
In line with this position, all lands claimed under Direct Payment Schemes in respect of the 2009 – 2012 scheme years are currently subject to ongoing review for eligibility purposes. As this work is ongoing, it is not possible to give a county by country breakdown at the present time. As a result of this phase of this review, payments made to farmers in respect of claimed areas, which were found to be ineligible, must be reimbursed. In such circumstances, farmers are advised that they can either refund the over-payment directly to my Department, or, alternatively, the overpayment can be recouped from their next payment(s) due from my Department. Such reviews can only be undertaken when up-to-date imagery becomes available to my Department. During the cross-checks undertaken it is necessary to verify that the ineligible feature (e.g. a house) was in existence in the years when over-claims of eligible areas are established. Where ineligible features are identified, farmers are issued with maps of the re-digitised land parcel and are advised of the right of appeal.
Applicants will be entitled to have their case reviewed by submitting their appeal on the form provided by my Department. If they are not satisfied with the outcome of the review, they can appeal their case to the independent chaired Land Eligibility Appeals Committee. This Committee will consist of an independent Chairman and Appeals Officers from the Agriculture Appeals Office.
