Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It was the one element that maintained the economy during the darkest years of the past decade.

I wish to raise a couple of issues, the perennial one being that of on-farm inspections. As the Minister knows, there is a mechanism for CAP simplification as a result of Commission Phil Hogan's announcements. It is imperative that they be implemented in respect of the basic payment scheme this year and not be kicked out until 2017. There is a major problem with the variation in randomised on-farm inspections across counties. Bizarrely, the penalty rate in County Roscommon and east Galway is 20 times that across the River Shannon in County Longford. At the end of each year after on-farm inspections are completed, will the Department hold a series of regional meetings to explain to farmers where common mistakes have been made and how they can avoid repeats? The Department's objective should be to try to keep the penalty rate down, not to drive farmers out of agriculture and reduce incomes.

Will the Minister adopt another suggestion? Each basic payment scheme map has a date at its bottom. That is the date on which the map was printed, which is of no use to anyone. Could the map state the dates on which the remote picture was taken and last amended?

I wish to raise two further issues, the first of which relates to the beef sector. We need additional direct payments for the suckler herd. Will the Minister immediately commence the review of the beef data and genomics scheme instead of dragging it down the road? It is vital that a targeted payment of €20 per ewe in the national sheep flock be put in place and that sheep farmers have direct access to the knowledge transfer, TAMS, GLAS and areas of natural constraint programmes.

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