Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 December 2013
142. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding farm inspections and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52215/13]
View answerThe Deputy is aware that the lands declared by farmers under the Single Payment Scheme, the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and other Direct Payment Schemes must be eligible if these lands benefit from payment under one of more of these Schemes. My Department is currently carrying out a comprehensive exercise by excluding ineligible features, such as houses, roads, scrub, rivers, etc. in land parcels declared by farmers. In the vast majority of cases, the exclusion has no impact on payments as the farmers in question have taken a prudent approach and reduced the declared area to take account of the ineligible feature.
However, there are some cases where the level of over-declaration determined as part of this review process is greater than 20%. Under the provisions of the governing EU Regulations, an over-declaration of over 20% means that no payment can be made to the farmer in the year of application. Given the significance of such a finding for the farmer concerned, it is seen as prudent that a Department official visit each farm where the review has found an over-declaration of greater than 20%, in order to verify the position on the ground.
All such applicants will be written to by my Department informing them of the outcome of the determination in their case. They will also be informed of the following options open to them.
- Details of the dedicated telephone help-line to deal with calls from such applicants.
- Confirmation of their right to seek a review of the decision in their case.
- Informing them of the proposed visit by an official of my Department in order to establish whether the level of ineligible area determined is accurate.
In other cases where farmers declare the ineligible area, which results in an over-claim, they are written to and provided with map(s) of the excluded ineligible areas. They are also informed of their right to seek a review of the Department’s finding and to submit any information and documentation that they consider is relevant. It is a matter for each individual farmer to decide whether he or she will seek a review of the decision made in their case. Some farmers may take the view that the determination made is correct and not seek a review. In some cases where the farmer has sought a review of the determination, it may be necessary to visit the farm in order to verify the accuracy of the information submitted by the farmer as part of the review process.
All applicants, whose eligible areas have been reduced as part of this process, have the right to seek an internal Department review of the determination in their case. If they are not satisfied with the outcome of this review they can appeal their case to the LPIS Appeals Committee, which is chaired by an independent Chairman.
