Written Answers Nos. 356-370
357. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason a 100% penalty was imposed on an application under the single payment scheme in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; if proper procedures were followed during and after the land eligibility inspection; if he is satisfied with the decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11580/15]
View answerThe 2012 Single Payment Scheme application of the person named was selected for a ground eligibility and cross compliance inspection. The eligibility inspection involved the inspection of lands declared in counties Clare, Limerick, Roscommon and Tipperary. This inspection identified discrepancies between the area declared and area found, resulting in an intentional over-declaration in area of greater than 20% in respect of the Single Payment Scheme. Based on the Terms and Conditions of this Scheme this resulted in no payment in respect of the 2012 scheme and the application of an administrative fine to be offset against any future EU payments. The person named was notified of this decision on 19 November 2012.
The cross compliance inspection identified breaches relating to requirements applying to Special Areas of Conservation and sheep identification and registration requirements, resulting in a 5% penalty. The person named was also notified of this decision on 19 November 2012. The person named sought a review of both inspection decisions. As part of this review process the person named was afforded the opportunity to provide any new evidence and supporting documentation for consideration by the reviewing officer. The outcome of this review was to uphold the original inspection decisions and the person named was notified of this decision on 12 February 2013.
During the course of this review the application of the administrative fine was also examined. Following a review of the applicable EU legislation and the receipt of legal advice from my Department's Legal Services Division, it was determined that the application of the administrative fine was incorrect given that the area of the intentional non-compliance was less than 3%. Following this determination, arrangements were immediately put in place to refund the value of the administrative fine applied and the relevant amounts issued to the person named on 20 December 2013.
The person named appealed the inspection decisions to the independent Agriculture Appeals Office. As part of the appeal process an oral hearing took place on 18 September 2013 where the person named was afforded the opportunity to seek clarification on any issues relating to how the inspections were carried out and their findings and also to present any additional information in support of the appeal. While the decision of the Appeals Office was to partially allow the appeal in relation to the eligibility over-declaration, this had no monetary impact as the overall over-declaration was still greater than 20% and less than 50%. The Appeals Office upheld the decision in relation to the Cross Compliance penalty of 5%. The person named was notified of the Appeals Office decision on 7 February 2014. The person named was also advised of their right to pursue the matter further with the Office of the Ombudsman.
At the request of the person named, officials from my Department, independent to those officers involved in the inspection process, met with the applicant and agreed to undertake a review of the procedures applied during the inspection process. One of the areas of concern was that the eligibility inspection was carried out without notification. EU regulations governing inspections provide that an inspection may be carried out on an unannounced basis where it is considered that the inspection may be jeopardised by giving notice. The outcome of this review was that there were no grounds to overturn the inspection findings and the consequential financial penalty. The person named was notified of this decision by letter dated 14 December 2014.
The person named has availed of the option of internal reviews by officials within my Department, including a review by official's independent to the original inspection process. In addition, the person named has availed of the right to appeal the inspection decisions to the independent Agriculture Appeals Office. The person named was advised of their right to raise the matter further with the Office of the Ombudsman and my Department understands that this option has not been availed of to date. In addition, I understand that the person named has been in contact with the Director of the Independent Appeals Office with what he states is new information concerning this case and this is currently being considered.
358. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason the terms and conditions of the single payment scheme for the years 2012 to 2014 have been changed from year to year, in relation to controls and inspections. [11585/15]
View answerMy Department compiles a Terms and Conditions booklet each year covering the various Direct Payment Schemes and Rural Development measures. This document provides a summary of the requirements and is prepared as an aid to applicants. However, it should be recognised that the governing EU regulations form the definitive basis for the administration of the various schemes, including those requirements related to inspections and controls. The terms and conditions booklet is prepared annually and is amended to take account of any changes in the governing regulations, as well other factors including audit findings, which impact on the administration of the schemes.
359. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a new farmers' charter and action plan has been published; if so, if it has legal status; if not, when it will be published and when it will have legal status; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11592/15]
View answerNegotiations on the new Farmers' Charter are at an advanced stage but there are a number of key areas that require further discussion. The Farmers' Charter Review Group, chaired by an Assistant Secretary from my Department and comprised of senior Department officials and representatives of the main farming organisations is endeavouring to achieve consensus on the outstanding issues and to do so in as timely a manner as possible. Progress has been somewhat delayed in recent weeks due mainly to the involvement of relevant officials in the current round of CAP Information meetings. These meetings will finish at the end of this week and I expect that negotiations will resume shortly thereafter.
The aim of the Review Group is to agree standards and delivery targets for the schemes and services provided by my Department to all its clients including farmers. These standards and targets form the basis of the Farmers' Charter. The relevant national and EU legislation are the legal instruments governing the various schemes and services. The Charter is effectively an agreement drawn up between the parties but has no force of law and accordingly has no legal status.
Once a new Farmers' Charter is finalised, a Charter Monitoring Committee will be established under an independent chair to monitor agreed targets and standards.
360. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason his Department will not issue a letter of loss of premium in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick, in order that this person can receive compensation from the Electricity Supply Board for the loss in premium in relation to forestry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11596/15]
View answerThe Forest Service provides letters to facilitate payment by the ESB of compensation to an applicant under the Afforestation Scheme where a power line traverses a plantation, a consequence of which is that areas cannot be planted because they cannot achieve the minimum width required under the Scheme.
The application map originally submitted by the person named included corridors and areas that are eligible for planting. Consequently, the Department was not in a position to issue the letter requested in respect of these areas. The person named appealed against this decision and the matter was reviewed and his appeal rejected.
361. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason he chose not to proceed with a ban on fur farming as was initiated by the previous Government. [11611/15]
View answerI established a Review Group in November 2011 to examine all aspects of fur farming in Ireland. The Terms of Reference of the Review Group were:
(i) To review fur farming in Ireland taking into account existing legislative provisions for the licensing of mink farming
(ii) To comment on the economic benefits of the sector
(iii) To consider the effectiveness of existing welfare controls, and
(iv) To make appropriate recommendations
The Review Group invited submissions from the public and interested parties and considered over four hundred submissions which were received.
The Group concluded that it did not find the arguments in favour of banning the farming of fur animals in Ireland compelling and recommended that instead, fur farming be allowed continue under licence and subject to official control.
On foot of the Review Group's deliberations, my Department has introduced more rigorous controls on licence holders in the areas of animal welfare, animal accommodation, security and nutrient management. Licensees are subject to regular inspections, including unannounced inspections by Department officials. There are currently a total of three operators in Ireland licensed to keep mink.
363. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the timeframe as to when a 2014 agri-environment options scheme payment will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11661/15]
View answerThe person named was approved for participation in the 2011 Agri-Environment Options Scheme (AEOS 2) with effect from the 1st September 2011 and full entitlements have issued in respect of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 Scheme years.
Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be completed before any payment can issue. The application in question was selected for a ground inspection which identified non compliances with the Terms and Conditions of the scheme in relation to the Traditional Hay Meadow action. The application is being processed on the basis of the inspection findings and payment in respect of 2014, less penalties, will issue shortly.
364. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive a payment following an appeal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11668/15]
View answerAn application under the 2013 Single Payment Scheme/Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on 14 May 2013 and payment issued on 20 September 2013 under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme. No payment was due under the Single Farm Payment Scheme as the person named does not hold any payment entitlements under that Scheme.
A review of the land parcels declared by the person named under the 2013 Single Payment Scheme revealed that a number of the land parcels declared by the person named contained ineligible features and the person named was notified accordingly. Following the review of my Department's decision, sought by the person named, a visit by a Department official to verify the position on the ground was necessary. This verification check established that the level of over-declaration under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was greater than 20%. Under the governing EU Regulations, where an over-declaration greater than 20% is established, no payment was due to the person named under the 2013 Disadvantaged Area Scheme. As a result of this determination, the amount already paid to the person named under the 2013 Scheme must be recouped from future payments made by my Department.
A letter detailing the outcome of the verification check was issued to the person named on the 19 July 2014. This letter advised that in the event that the person named was dissatisfied with the outcome of the verification check the decision could be appealed to the independent LPIS Appeals Committee, within 3 months of the notification letter.
By letter dated 17 September 2014, the person named opted to avail of his right to appeal to the independently-chaired LPIS Appeal Committee and the LPIS Appeals Committee have partially allowed his appeal allowing a small area eligible as forage area for 2013. However, when this revision is taken into account the level of over-declaration is still greater than 20%, which means that no payment is still due to the person named. The person named was notified of the outcome on 24 February 2015. The person named can appeal this decision to the Office of the Ombudsman if he so wishes.
365. Deputy Noel Harrington asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the swing mooring rates at each of the fishery harbour centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11673/15]
View answerThe Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has responsibility under the Fishery Harbours Centre Act, 1968 (as amended) for the six Fishery Harbour Centres located at Howth, Dunmore East, Castletownbere, Dingle, Ros an Mhíl and Killybegs.
Rates and charges for the use of facilities and services at each of the six Fishery Harbour Centres are imposed in accordance with the Fishery Harbour Centres (Rates & Charges) Order 2012 (S.I. 214 of 2012). Charge No. 9, Schedule 2 of the Order sets out the applicable charges for the use of swing moorings as follows:-
(a) Vessels up to 5.5 metres in length €200 per year
(b) Vessels over 5.5 metres in length €300 per year.
366. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason a payment under the disadvantaged areas scheme did not issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; when it will issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11720/15]
View answerAn application under 2014 Single Payment/Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on 6 May 2014. Processing of the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme application has recently been completed and payment will issue directly to the nominated bank account of the person named shortly.
367. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 134 of 12 March 2015, when his Department received the application for the felling licence for the person concerned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11724/15]
View answerThe Department received this application for a felling licence on 27th January 2015.
The application in question was initially submitted by email by a forestry company on behalf of the applicant on 21st July 2014. Unfortunately the email address to which the application had been submitted in July 2014 was an invalid Forest Service email address. This address was published in a circular distributed to the forestry trade notifying them of emergency procedures for storm-damaged forests in April 2014. When the oversight was discovered by the forestry company in January 2015, the application was then submitted to the correct email address.
368. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding a payment under the single payment scheme in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11728/15]
View answerThe above named was an applicant under the 2013 Single Farm Payment Scheme. The application was one of those selected for a Satellite Inspection at which over-claims were discovered. A subsequent ground inspection confirmed the over-claims and the person named was notified accordingly. The person named appealed the original findings and the matter was re-examined following a field visit. That re-examination resulted in the area found being increased, but not sufficiently to bring the penalty below 20%. The applicant was informed of this in writing on 28 April 2014.
The person named subsequently appealed the decision to the Agriculture Appeals office. An oral hearing on the matter has been held and that Office will, in due course, inform the applicant directly of the result of the appeal.
369. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when farm payments in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Donegal will be made, in view of the fact that the person was previously awarded grazing rights by the courts for a disputed land parcel; when the person can also expect retrospective payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11769/15]
View answerThe person named has submitted applications under the Single Payment Scheme for all years since its inception in 2005. These applications included LPIS Parcel No. E22311009 - High Glen Commonage. In 2006, the Department requested the herd owner to provide satisfactory evidence of his entitlement to claim the land parcel in his application. The Department did not accept that the evidence provided proved satisfactory entitlement to payment on this land in respect of the person named.
In 2014, the person named pursuant to litigation submitted a Circuit Court Order which awarded him a grazing right of 80 sheep on this commonage. While the person named has submitted information to officials in my Department, further information has been requested from the person named seeking clarification regarding the court order from the Circuit Court. The clarification sought relates to how much land this grazing right equates to and what date the Court Order is effective from. On receipt of these clarifications, the case will be further examined with a view to issuing any payment due as soon as possible. Officials from my Department have been in regular contact with a representative of the herd owner to apprise them of the situation.
370. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applications under the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme received to date by his Department; his plans on extending the deadline for closing the scheme from 30 April 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11780/15]
View answerAt close of business on Friday 20th March 2015 a total of 6,684 applications were created on the Department's GLAS online application system.
In light of the European Commission's recent announcement that Member States may extend the closing date for direct payment applications beyond the 15th May and up to 15th June I am now considering whether to extend the closing date for GLAS applications.
In deciding whether to extend the date and for how long, I will take account of the feedback from farmers and advisors, the need for the efficient management of the different Departmental on-line systems and the effect, if any, on commencement dates in GLAS.
