Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 January 2014
621. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding payments in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3845/14]
View answerIn order to meet the EU requirements under the Single Payment Scheme (SPS), the application of the person named was one of a number which was selected for inspection in 2012. The application was initially examined via remote sensing (Satellite Inspection). As over claims were determined on some parcels, these were sent for ground inspection.
The ground inspection process confirmed an over claim of greater than 50% in this case. In such cases no payment is issued in the year of the inspection and an administrative fine is also applied to the SPS payment in the following year. The person named was notified of this decision on 22 November 2012 and was also informed of his right to seek a review.
An appeal was lodged on behalf of the person named and another inspection of the land declared was carried out. The outcome was that the ineligible area found was reduced to less than 50% and therefore the administrative fine did not apply in respect of the person’s Single Payment Scheme application in 2013. In effect, while no payment was issued in respect of the 2012 SPS there was no reduction applied to the 2013 SPS payment. The person named was informed of the outcome of his appeal by letter dated 4 April 2013 of this decision.
With regard to the 2012 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme, the person named is one of a number of applicants under the Scheme, whose cases were impacted upon by the requirement to have achieved a minimum stocking density of 0.3 livestock units per forage hectare in 2011, and who applied for and were refused derogation in this regard. The person named subsequently appealed unsuccessfully to the independently chaired DAS Appeals Committee. The person named was informed accordingly and was advised of his right to pursue the matter with the Office of the Ombudsman.
