Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for her second reply on this issue. Will farmers be informed in advance of the category under which they will be inspected? Will they be inspected in regard to identification or under the single farm payment or will the category be decided by the inspectors when they arrive on site? We have been told that the majority of inspections in regard to cross-compliance, most of which will relate to the issues of permanent pasture and the areas claimed, can be done by satellite and will not require on-farm inspections. On this basis, why are we proceeding along these lines for on-farm inspections?

The Minister raised the issue of tolerance. We have the indicators only in regard to cattle but what she has said is contrary to what has been indicated in the media in that tolerance levels are higher the smaller the number of animals. The more animals a farmer has, the lower the levels of tolerance. This seems to be contrary to what should be the case. The Minister spoke about clerical errors and so on. I understand that unless farmers have corrected any errors by 31 May, they will be in breach of the cross-compliance regulations. Does this mean, for example, that a person who omits his or her date of birth on the form will be in breach? How will an error such as this be treated?

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