Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

First, I need to know if people are being inspected repeatedly because according to my information, only a relatively small percentage of farmers are meant to be inspected each year. If people are of the view that they have been targeted for four years out of five, for example, that would be strange and I would like to know about it and find out why it is the case. Perhaps the Deputy might forward the relevant details to me.

On whether we are implementing the rules on cross-compliance in inspections in a more aggressive way than is the case in other European countries, the requirements in this regard are laid down by the Commission and enforced by it through an audit process. In the coming days officials from the Commission will be auditing the AEOS and REPS payments for last year in order to discover whether we have carried out the required inspections and completed the necessary paperwork. The Commission also does this in the case of other countries. It is often stated Ireland is much stricter than other member states when it comes to inspections and cross-compliance. Our inspections are driven by the requirements laid down by the Commission and the audits it carries out. If we do not meet the requirements to which I refer, we will be fined. We would lose out as a result because my Department would be obliged to pay such fines and would not be able to spend the amounts of money involved on farmers or the food industry. We carry out inspections in order to minimise the number of problems that might arise during the audit process. The financial cost relating to such problems can often be substantial. We will be obliged to pay in the region of €12 million to the Commission this year in respect of previous non-compliance issues, overpayments, etc., which were revealed in audits. It is not the case that the Government has decided to take a tough approach in dealing with farmers, rather we are playing by the rules because if we do not do so, everybody, including farmers, will be obliged to pay the cost when issues arise from the audits to which I refer.

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