Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am sharing time on this with Senator Kyne, who comes from the same type of area as I do, as does the Cathaoirleach. There was a huge fire in Killarney during the summer. Fires pose great problems for many people and many farmers. A fire on commonage, in forestry or on any land can be started by fishers, campers, hillwalkers or various people who can be lackadaisical in throwing away cigarette butts or starting a campfire for a picnic and failing to put it out properly, with the result that commonage, land or forestry in many cases can be burned. This leads to the destruction of habitats. The penalties are in place because of the destruction of habitats. This is most unfair. A fire can be started on one farm and spread to the next farm. All farmers are penalised. Commonage holders are also penalised. The result is that their farm payments are reduced. The penalty is that no payment is made on the burnt land. There is also a penalty on the payment for the farmer's remaining land. Many farmers have appealed these decisions and where evidence was provided that the farmer did not start the fire the Department removed the penalty on the remaining lands but still issued no payment on the burnt land. This is very unfair if a person is not responsible.

Farmers must always appeal in these circumstances. They should not have to do this. Only the person found to have been responsible for starting the fire should be penalised. There should not be any penalty imposed on any other farmer, landowner or recipient of farm payments. This is a big issue. The National Parks and Wildlife Service has a huge part to play in this. I expect a very positive reply from the Minister of State. If not, I ask him to bring it back to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. This is creating great hardship for many farmers. In some cases there is a lot of money involved. Every year brings its own story.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State. I concur with Senator Burke on the concerns about penalties being imposed on farmers. Farmers are very aware of their responsibilities. This has been rumbling for a long number of years with regard to responsibilities for protecting habitats and environments. Depending on conditions and at certain times of the year, fires can spread if started maliciously or accidentally by another individual. They can spread – pardon the pun – like wildfire across commonages, protected areas and forestry. In the Connemara area I have seen the aftermath of such destruction. I have seen fires that have taken place. Depending on the conditions and the time of year, they can run wild. Farmers are penalised and their payments are held up or stopped until such time as investigations take place. I look forward to the response from the Minister of State.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senators Burke and Kyne for tabling the Commencement matter. I concur with their sentiments. Notwithstanding this, I am stepping in for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine so I will read the response from him. I will raise with him the very valid issues the Senators have raised.

The basic payment scheme is a critical income support paid to farmers. It is fully funded by the EU and is subject to EU regulations. Applicants under the basic payment scheme are allocated payment entitlements and are paid annually on the basis of the number of entitlements held, with the requirement to have an eligible hectare of agricultural land for each payment entitlement. I am sure the Senators are very well aware of this.

It is specified in the 2021 basic payment scheme terms and conditions that land burned during the closed season of 1 March to 31 August in any given year is not eligible for the purpose of payment under the basic payment scheme. Where land has been burned, it is not in a state suitable for an agricultural activity such as grazing or cultivation and, therefore, it is not eligible, except where controlled burning is carried out in accordance with all relevant legislative requirements. Burning of land between 1 March and 31 August in any year is prohibited by law under section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976, as amended by the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000. We are all aware of the loss of wildlife habitats and biodiversity caused by fires, as well as the risk to human life and property.

As required under EU regulations, all applications under the basic payment scheme are subject to robust administrative checks prior to payment. Only valid applications under the basic payment scheme that fully comply with the requirements of the EU legislation are paid. The main element of these administrative checks is an area of assessment which is achieved by using the land parcel identification system. These administrative checks are critical in ensuring the Department meets the rigorous audit requirements at EU and national level. Failure to undertake these administrative checks can result in severe financial penalties for the Department.

As part of these required administrative checks, the Department actively investigates incidents of illegal burning using the most up-to-date technology and satellite imagery. Land declared as eligible on a basic payment scheme application that has subsequently been identified as burned during the closed season may give rise to an overclaim. Such an overclaim will result in a reduction in the eligible area. In addition, as required under the EU regulations, administrative penalties are applied where the area overclaimed is greater than 3% of the area declared. The administrative penalty applied is 1.5 times the difference in hectares between the area declared and area determined, or the number of entitlements held, if lower. The penalty will not exceed 100% of the amount based on the area declared.

Where an overclaim occurs, departmental officials write to the affected applicants setting out the options available to them, including the right to seek a review. Each review is carefully considered individually based on the individual facts of each case. Should applicants disagree with the Department's decision on any review, they have a further right of appeal to the independent Agriculture Appeals Office. All the circumstances are taken into account when considering an appeal.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has raised this matter directly with the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, and he has advised that farmers should appeal any decision taken regarding the basic payment scheme when fires occur through no fault of the applicant. His Department will examine potential ways to bring these farmers back into the scheme. It should be noted that the land is only ineligible in the year the burning took place. It does not affect the land eligibility in subsequent years.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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What the Minister of State is saying is that if a fire takes place between 1 March and 31 August the farmer loses money unless the appeal is successful. Even at that, the farmer will have to go through the rigours of the appeal process. These appeals should be fast and simple. They should not be complicated. Farmers who are not responsible for the fires should be fully recompensed immediately. This is the view of all farmers. As the Minister of State well knows, there can be great hardship. Farmers have commitments such as bank payments. There is huge hardship in some cases. I ask the Minister of State to bring back to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine our argument that the appeals process should be easy and determined quickly.The only person who should be responsible at the end of the day is the person who caused the fire.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senators Kyne and Burke again for raising the matter. I am from a large rural constituency and fully appreciate and understand how delays can affect farm management. As we all know, farmers are dependent on cash flow and they only receive payments, in many cases, once or twice a year. Farmers must make their cash flow management work for the full year. I understand there should not be any delays in that regard, especially if those farmers have not committed any wrongdoing to cause the fire. I will raise the matter with the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and report the comments made by both Senators. We can try to see if we can get further movement in terms of reducing the timeframe of the appeals process.

I also note, as I referenced earlier, that farmers must be conscious of the strict regulatory environment of the EU audit service which is required for these payments. We will do our best to see if we can reduce any burden on our farming community. That is the key and it is what we are all trying to do.