Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The deduction in eligibility for agricultural payments stems from the fact that it is not agricultural land, and it is not able to be farmed if it has been burned. That is the reason it is deducted from the payments. The actual fines outside of that and the prosecution, if it was burned outside of when it was permitted and without licence, is a separate system. European payments, to be clear, are based on the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, and on whether or not the land is agricultural land. That is what determines its eligibility.