Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy on the importance of communicating this. I was about to highlight what would happen in the case of a red status. A red status might flag up the presence of an ineligible feature such as a house, farm or roadway. It might indicate a discrepancy in the category of agricultural area whether it is arable land, permanent crop or permanent grassland. For example, spring barley might be declared on the application, but grassland might be identified on the AMS.

The introduction of the AMS is a significant change but there are also a number of benefits. There will be a significant reduction in the number of on-farm inspections. Farmers will also get notifications of potential errors. They will have opportunities to rectify these errors. This will lead to reduction in the number of potential penalties. We are putting great effort into getting the message out to farmers and advisors so that they know what to expect in 2023. We will work collectively with farmers to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible. There is a lot of work ongoing. The Deputy is absolutely right about its importance. On payments, every effort is being made to deliver them in the tightest timeframe possible this year.

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