Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I begin by congratulating Mr. Joe Healy, the newly elected president of the Irish Farmers Association. I hope the necessary reforms will take place within the organisation and that it will support all farming families, including those with small and medium farms. Practices involving farm inspections and the imposition of penalties or the threat of imposing penalties through cuts to the single farm payments have been brought to my attention on many occasions by my constituents in Offaly and north Tipperary. If such measures were adopted in any other profession or livelihood, they would not be accepted or tolerated, so they should not be imposed on the farming community. I raise the issue of farm inspections today with the Minister. Farmers throughout this State are absolutely crippled with bureaucracy and red tape associated with the various farming schemes. Farmers are terrified of the Department's inspectors landing in the yard unannounced to carry out these inspections, which are often perceived as heavy-handed. It is beyond belief and unacceptable that for many farming families throughout the State, the Department is seen as a source of stress and fear rather than a source of support for these communities. It is little wonder that the thought of these inspections fills farmers with dread.

In Ireland in 2014, 10,000 farmers were hit with penalties such that €3.3 million was deducted from single farm payments, with €1.1 million deducted from the disadvantaged areas scheme payments. This, combined with falling farm incomes across many farm sectors, is having a real impact on our farming communities. Something must be done to address the issue. Provisional figures from Teagasc estimate that the average family farm income will fall by 9% to €24,000 per annum, less than 60% of the average industrial wage. It is welcome then that some simplification measures have been announced for the first half of 2016 that primarily relate to penalty systems in place, but more must be done urgently. New measures to reduce penalties include preliminary checks on aid applications and the "yellow card” system for first offenders. These are welcome and will, I hope, cut the administrative penalty in half when an over-declaration is minor. Reducing administrative burdens for farmers is crucial in any changes to the current legislation as unintentional mistakes often lead to penalties and reductions in income support. That is unacceptable.

Furthermore, there must be a change in the culture and approach of the Department and the European institutions on this issue. I fear that somewhere along the way, we have simply forgotten the purpose of these inspections. They are not there to provide an administrative and bureaucratic nightmare for farmers, as they often do, or to strike fear into our farming community.

They should be there to ensure the best possible standards of production and to support farmers in their efforts to achieve them. While no one would argue about the need for standards and compliance with the regulations, we need to remember that farmers are operating under serious pressure and they require support and assistance to navigate their way through the red tape and ever-increasing bureaucracy. The real test of the new system will be in the interpretation by officials from the Department and I urge the Minister to take action now to ensure the same climate of fear is not allowed to grip the officials in the Department. Instead, officials should approach the issue of inspections with the objective of ensuring that the high standards and productivity of Irish farmers is maintained through a collaborative approach to the issue of standards and compliance.

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