Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question. At the outset, it should be noted that Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, payments are governed by EU regulations and are subject to rigorous audit and control by the European Commission. That is a central aspect of this issue. The basic payment scheme application process has been streamlined over many years to ensure as quick, efficient and responsive a process as possible and, most importantly, prompt payment for farmers. The application process is reviewed annually to make it as clear and straightforward as possible.

Every effort is being made by the Department to improve the quality of applications, with the aim of lowering reductions and administrative penalties, as well as allowing errors to be resolved and payments to be issued in good time. The basic payment system, which is an online application system, usually opens for applications in mid-February and it closes mid-May. The system provides a step-by-step process with warnings to ensure the application is submitted, as much as is possible, free of errors. Farmers can correct errors on their applications online up until the end of May without penalty. Late amendments are also accepted online up to mid-June with a penalty. Farmers are permitted to correct obvious and innocent errors at any time after the end of May. However, it should be noted that amendments are not possible if the farmer has already been informed of irregularities in their application or has been given notice of an upcoming on-the-spot inspection, or if an on-the-spot inspection reveals irregularities in their application. A further process, known as preliminary checks, alerts applicants to errors on land issues such as overclaims, overlaps and dual claims. These preliminary checks allow applicants to amend certain errors quickly, thereby avoiding penalties.

Applicants are requested to tick a box to confirm if they wish to apply for the ANC scheme each year. It is a requirement that the applicant must make a declaration that they are applying for this scheme and will comply with the terms and conditions. If an applicant does not tick the box to apply for ANC initially, and if they received payment under this scheme in the previous scheme year, they are presented with an additional pop-up warning under the heading, “Do you wish to apply for ANC?”. This warning advises that they had received a payment in previous years and requests them to select from one of two options, "I want to apply for ANC" or "I do not want to apply for ANC". The warnings and reminders are to ensure applicants are fully aware of the schemes they are or are not applying for. I will supply a further answer in next my response.

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