My Department, in the context of delivering the Direct Payments Schemes is required to carry out annual inspections covering land eligibility and cross compliance to ensure compliance with EU regulatory requirements.
Eligibility checks must be carried out on 5% of applicants. These checks are carried out to verify that the actual area claimed in the application form corresponds to the area farmed by the farmer and to ensure that any ineligible land/features are deducted. Up to two-thirds of these inspections are carried out without a farm visit as the information is verified using the technique of remote sensing via satellite.
The rate of inspections for cross-compliance is 1% of applicants to whom the Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) and Good Agricultural Condition (GAEC) apply. However 3% of farmers must be inspected under the bovine identification and registration requirements while 3% of sheep/goat farmers must be inspected covering 5% of the flock.
In 2010, in an effort to minimise duplication of farm inspections between the two Departments, my Department agreed to carry out some 1,600 nitrates inspections under the GAP regulations on behalf of the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government. This arrangement was retained in 2011 and will apply also in 2012.
I have set out in tabular form, data on the number of inspections conducted to date under the 2012 schemes:
County
|
No. of Inspections
|
Carlow
|
55
|
Cavan
|
138
|
Clare
|
120
|
Cork East
|
264
|
Cork West
|
327
|
Donegal North
|
71
|
Donegal South
|
187
|
Dublin
|
17
|
Galway East
|
203
|
Galway West
|
138
|
Kerry North
|
165
|
Kerry South
|
96
|
Kildare
|
62
|
Kilkenny
|
139
|
Laois
|
129
|
Leitrim
|
129
|
Limerick
|
240
|
Longford
|
65
|
Louth
|
31
|
Mayo North
|
159
|
Mayo South
|
109
|
Meath
|
143
|
Monaghan
|
176
|
Offaly
|
113
|
Roscommon
|
151
|
Sligo
|
78
|
Tipperary North
|
176
|
Tipperary South
|
227
|
Waterford
|
178
|
Westmeath
|
92
|
Wexford
|
196
|
Wicklow East
|
47
|
Wicklow West
|
19
|
Total
|
4,440
|
In addition my Department, carries out the inspections outlined under the Organic Farming Scheme and the Agri Environment Schemes.
In accordance with Art 12(1) of EU Regulation 1975/2006, which governs the Organic Farming Scheme, the number of inspections carried out each year shall cover at least 5% of all beneficiaries. To date 60 organic farms have been selected for inspection, as set out in the table below. A further 5% of new applications received by 15 May, 2012 will also be selected for farm inspection once approved for entry to the Scheme.
County
|
Organics
|
Cavan
|
2
|
Clare
|
3
|
Cork
|
8
|
Donegal
|
1
|
Galway
|
4
|
Kerry
|
2
|
Kildare
|
1
|
Kilkenny
|
4
|
Laois
|
3
|
Leitrim
|
6
|
Limerick
|
2
|
Longford
|
2
|
Meath
|
2
|
Monaghan
|
1
|
Offaly
|
3
|
Roscommon
|
4
|
Sligo
|
1
|
Tipperary
|
3
|
Waterford
|
1
|
Westmeath
|
5
|
Wexford
|
2
|
Total
|
60
|
My Department inspects 5% of REPS participants on an annual basis to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the REPS scheme. This year to date only 8 REPS inspections have taken place as set out below:
County
|
No. of Inspections
|
Cavan
|
1
|
Kerry
|
1
|
Donegal
|
4
|
Cork
|
2
|
My Department inspects 5% of applicants under the Agricultural Environment and Options Scheme (AEOS) to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the scheme. So far in 2012, my inspectors have inspected 329 farms, the breakdown of which is outlined in the table below:
AEOS 2 Inspections in 2012
County
|
Number
|
Carlow
|
1
|
Cavan
|
8
|
Clare
|
20
|
Cork
|
22
|
Donegal
|
22
|
Dublin
|
1
|
Galway
|
46
|
Kerry
|
27
|
Kildare
|
4
|
Kilkenny
|
14
|
Laois
|
6
|
Leitrim
|
9
|
Limerick
|
15
|
Longford
|
1
|
Louth
|
1
|
Mayo
|
33
|
Meath
|
5
|
Monaghan
|
6
|
Offaly
|
11
|
Roscommon
|
13
|
Sligo
|
10
|
Tipperary
|
30
|
Waterford
|
7
|
Westmeath
|
7
|
Wexford
|
7
|
Wicklow
|
3
|
Total
|
329
|