Claire Kerrane
Question:471. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will advise on his Department's approach to map acres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42210/23]
View answerTuesday, 3 October 2023
Questions (471)
Written answers
A reply is currently being prepared and will be forwarded to the Deputy directly once finalized.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51.
The term “map acres” is often used to describe the situation where somebody fraudulently claims to be farming land for the purpose of conferring an advantage in terms of nitrates allowances and/or area based scheme payments. This is unacceptable and where such fraudulent activity is detected it is not tolerated. From a payment scheme perspective, as per the Terms and Conditions of the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and other 2023 Area Based Schemes, for land to be deemed eligible for payment it must be an agricultural area with an agricultural activity. From a Nitrates perspective, land must be used for production to qualify for nutrient allowances.
An agricultural activity includes the production of agricultural products, such as livestock or growing crops (including by the way of paludiculture) or can involve the maintenance of the agricultural area. Where no activity is present the land is deemed ineligible.
In certain circumstances eligible agricultural area’s may be used for agricultural activities only every second year. This can occur in respect of cases for environmental, biodiversity or climate related reasons.
Where the activity is being carried out by a third party the parcel will be deemed ineligible for payment. The onus will be on the applicant to prove that an agricultural activity is taking place and they are responsible for said activity. Where the agricultural activity cannot be verified the parcel will be deemed ineligible for payment and for nitrates purposes.