Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I share Deputy Ó Cuív's view on error rates. The approach the Commission has taken towards penalising countries for error rates has caused a lot of problems for many member states, including Ireland. I expect we will have a discussion in due course whereby Ministers will demand as much clarity and flexibility as possible when rural development programmes are being signed off, so as to reduce the likelihood of error rates that result in significant disallowances. The extent of the disallowances that have been applied to some countries is causing serious concern - more than €1 billion for France, €400 million for the UK and similar for Italy. The penalties imposed on Ireland to date have been among the lowest for any member state, but we are now facing a large disallowance of €181 million, which we are looking to negotiate. It is a major challenge and we will go through arbitration to seek a solution.

The other commitment we are seeking - Deputy Ó Cuív will understand where I am coming from here - is for a degree of flexibility in terms of the introduction of new schemes. For example, if we change the way we measure active farming on a commonage and this results in a transition period, then we will be looking to the Commission for flexibility and a reasonable timeframe within which to introduce new or changed farm practices and so on. This is necessary to allow farmers to adapt in a practical sense, as opposed to their being asked to do the impossible overnight to maintain their single farm payment. We have had long discussions on this issue with the Commission and will have more in the future.