Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

As for the specific question, in the time available it has not been possible to compile a full range of data as requested by the Deputy. However this is being compiled and when it is available, as it is for 2009 and 2010 at present, the details will be forwarded to the Deputy.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

It is a regulatory requirement that land eligibility inspections must be finalised before any payments can issue in a given year. On the other hand, cross-compliance inspections take place throughout the calendar year and can be carried out after the payment has been made. In so far as possible, my Department tries to integrate some of the eligibility and cross-compliance inspections with a view to minimising the number of farm visits. However, since all eligibility inspections must be carried out before payment, these inspections are prioritised. Approximately 11,900 farmers were inspected under the 2011 schemes including those inspected using remote sensing.

In the time available it has not been possible to compile the full range of data requested by the Deputy. The information sought will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is compiled.

Under EU regulations, as well as the requirement to carry out annual cross-compliance inspections and apply penalties for non-compliance, member states also are required to take on board the results of inspections carried out by other bodies as part of the legislation underpinning the individual SMRs. This is known as cross-reporting. Any non-compliances detected also are subject to cross-compliance penalties. Under these arrangements, for example, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government would be expected to cross-report any non-compliance detected by local authorities in the course of their inspections under the good agricultural practice, GAP, regulations.

In 2010, in an effort to minimise duplication of farm inspections between the two Departments, my Department agreed to carry out approximately 1,600 nitrates inspections under the GAP regulations on behalf of the then Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. This arrangement was retained in 2011 and also will apply in 2012. In total, cross-compliance and GAEC inspections resulted in the higher monetary value of penalties applied in 2010 of €1.88 million, compared with €800,000 in 2009. This represents a penalty rate of 0.1% to protect direct payments of €1.8 billion annually.

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