Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As Deputy Kerrane pointed out, the new Common Agricultural Policy regulations provide for the compulsory use of the area monitoring system, AMS, in member states from 1 January of this year to monitor farming activity in respect of the new basic income support scheme and the areas of natural constraint scheme. The use of satellite data to carry out checks is not new, as we know; it has been part of the Department's inspection programme now for over 15 years. Checks by monitoring were successfully introduced in 2021 for the protein aid scheme, whereby satellite data were used to verify protein crops for all applicants' declared parcels.

The AMS can be described as the regular and systematic observation, tracking and assessment of agricultural activities and practices on agricultural areas using what is known as Copernicus Sentinel satellite data or other data with at least equivalent value. The data will then be complemented with geotagged photographs sent in by farmers or advisers using the AgriSnap mobile phone app, if requested by my Department, as well as follow-up checks on the ground by an inspector if needed. My Department will provide up to 48 hours' notice to farmers where a ground visit is required.

For 2023, the AMS will be used to monitor basic income support, areas of natural constraint, ANC, protein aid and the straw incorporation measure. The AMS will interpret satellite imagery to provide the data to help the Department to make informed decisions on agricultural activity on declared land parcels, of which there are approximately 1.3 million in the country. This will be done automatically through the use of computer algorithms and will run continuously throughout the year.

Under the previous control system using on-the-spot inspections, only a small sample of farmers were selected for eligibility inspections, usually about 5%. Under the AMS now, all agricultural parcels will be subject to the monitoring process. Parcels monitored by the AMS will have colour-coded results when presented to scheme applicants: green, yellow or red. Parcels flagged by the AMS system as green or yellow will be paid on. Parcels where a potential non-compliance is detected will have a red status.

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