Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 June 2016
527. Deputy Hildegarde Naughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will review the system of fines for breach of the nitrates directive (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16039/16]
View answerUnder the Terms and Conditions of Direct Payment Schemes, an applicant, as well as meeting the Scheme criteria, is required to comply with EU regulatory requirements relating to Cross Compliance.
Where my Department’s records indicate that in a given year the amount of nitrogen from livestock manure applied to land on the holding (including that deposited by animals), exceeds the limit of 170 kgs per hectare set down in the Nitrates Regulations, penalties will be applied.
Penalties are applied to the year in which the breach is determined and are deducted prior to the issuing of payments due under the Direct Payments Schemes.
Penalties will be multiplied by 3 for repeated breaches within 3 calendar years (reoccurrence/repetition). On a first repetition the current sanction is multiplied by 3. For second or further reoccurrences the previous percentage sanction is multiplied by 3, up to a limit of 15%. Repetition breaches after this will be considered as Intent and will lead to higher sanctions up to the loss of the current calendar year’s entire payment. It can also lead to the loss of any payment due in the following calendar year.
