Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 June 2014
160. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will clarify the situation regarding eligible lands for single farm payment as it relates to unenclosed commonage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25061/14]
View answerMy Department, in the context of delivering the Single Payment Scheme, the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and other area-based schemes, is required to carry out a comprehensive set of administrative and on the ground validation and verification checks to ensure that all scheme requirements and the provisions of the governing EU Regulations are fully complied before any payment issues. In the case of exclusively owned land, a permanent fence will normally define the area to be measured. The fencing requirement is one of a number of provisions provided for under the Terms and Conditions of the area-based schemes to ensure the lands declared for payment purposes are actively farmed by the applicant.
However, the situation may be different in the case of hill or commonage lands. In such situations, if my Department is satisfied that the lands in question continue to be actively farmed in the traditional manner by hill farmers in compliance with the requirements of the EU Regulations governing the Direct Payment Scheme, the issue does not arise. All of such lands are subject to both ground inspection and review of the ortho-imagery to ensure that the areas claimed are eligible.
