Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 November 2020
410. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason a person (details supplied) in County Kerry received a GLAS penalty for gorse burning on commonage that he had no hand, act or part in; if the penalty will be withdrawn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39268/20]
View answerWhere land is burned between the period of 1 March and 31 August of any given year, it is not in a state suitable for an agricultural activity such as grazing or cultivation and, therefore, it is not eligible for payment under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), except where controlled burning is carried out. My Department actively investigates incidents of illegal burning using satellite imagery.
The person named submitted his 2020 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application on 6 May 2020 in which he declared the lands he was farming. As outlined by the Deputy, a parcel submitted by the person named was subject to burning during the closed season for burning. The burnt area has been deducted from the parcel leaving a reduced maximum eligible area (MEA) for the 2020 BPS scheme year.
My Department wrote to the person named on 19 November 2020 advising him of the current position with regard to this parcel. The person named has been given the right to a review of his position and to submit any documentary evidence that he may have regarding the burning of this parcel.
It should be noted that the reduction of this parcel does not impact on their BPS payment as he has sufficient land to allow payment on the entitlements held by him. However, the reduction in land may impact on any other land-based schemes that the person named has applied for such as GLAS.
The associated GLAS application is currently undergoing pre-payment validation checks for the 2020 advance (85%) payment, including a cross check of land parcels claimed for GLAS against BPS records. The GLAS commonage payment is calculated based on the lesser of the claimed area or eligible area (MEA) as determined by BPS.
When the 2020 advance payment is processed, if an overclaim arises in relation to commonage which results in a GLAS penalty, the applicant will be informed in writing and be given the option of appeal.
