Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

While I understand what the Deputy is saying, there is another consideration - the accuracy of mapping. On many occasions we have discussed in the House the problems we have had with the new LPIS whereby we now have more accurate imagery of land than we have ever had before. As a result of that accuracy, the Commission has deemed that Ireland effectively owes it €181 million in terms of money that has been spent on land that is not eligible. We do not accept that figure and we have gone to arbitration. We hope to reduce it significantly and we have put much work into that.

It shows the seriousness the Commission attaches to payments on lands it deems to be ineligible on the basis of what can be seen on a map's imagery. We cannot simply say that none of these commonage areas have shrunk in size because there has been an encroachment of vegetation because of a lack of grazing. If it can be seen that land is no longer fit for agriculture practice, then there are issues that need to be addressed in terms of eligibility to ensure accuracy and avoid future fines. At the same time a farmer should do as much as possible from the point of view of stocking rate.

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