Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)

Will there be two separate sets of inspections? Will the total number amount to 5% or 6%? Will farmers know in advance under which category the inspection is being carried out or, depending on what the officials find on the farm, will they be slotted into either the cross-compliance category or the animal identification and registration category? In her response last month, the Minister stated that in some circumstances more than one inspection may be unavoidable. Will the Minister give an example of what she has in mind?

The information booklet published and circulated sets out the principal features of cross-compliance but the difficulty is in regard to the detail — many farmers are concerned that the devil is in the detail. In light of that and the suggested tolerance range in regard to tagging cattle, is it not discriminatory from the point of view that the less stock one has the higher the tolerance rate in respect of having stock not tagged? What are the implications for the sheep sector?

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