Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 418: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the official forms issued by her Department for use by the public and business which can be completed on-line; the forms which can not; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32031/07]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has greatest interaction with customers in relation to the following areas: direct payments under the Single Payment Scheme and Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS); animal traceability including registration of animal births and movements; Forestry grants and premiums; and Fisheries catch recording.

The majority of the interactions relating to these key areas with the exception of REPS can now be carried out online through www.agriculture.gov.ie. These online facilities are fully integrated with our processing systems, thereby obviating the need for input of information that we already hold. They also provide extensive validation, thereby assisting customers in avoiding the types of errors that can cause delay in the processing of their applications.

The online application facilities made available by my Department are quite extensive. The online application facilities mentioned below relate to the Department's key schemes and processes, SPS, Forestry, Fisheries and Animal Health and Traceability. At present, the only major scheme which is not available online is REPS.

Accordingly, the following is a brief synopsis of the online facilities provided by my Department:

In relation to Animal Health and Welfare, the following forms, which had previously been paper based, may now be completed online by private veterinary practitioners in respect of tests conducted under the Bovine TB and Brucellosis eradication schemes:

This provides end to end automation between the private veterinary practices and the Department, improving the efficiency of the process for all concerned, improving our animal health information, and reducing the time taken to release clear animals for sale.

With regard to Sea Fisheries Divisions of my Department, the following forms can be completed online:

The application forms for assistance under the various Forestry schemes cannot, as yet, be completed. However the key spatial, environmental and heritage information required for completion of applications has been made available electronically, as a first step towards full online application. Using this system, it is possible to electronically submit mapping details in support of paper based applications.

An online system has also been put in place to cater for the electronic submission of Common Agricultural Policy export declarations from exporters to the Customs Service of the Revenue Commissioners and onwards to the Dept of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. This system removes the need for manual data-entry of declaration data in both Revenue and my Department. It also ensures that data entering the system is validated electronically at a number of points in the chain, thus reducing time-consuming follow-up, error-chasing, manual work by my officials, Customs and the exporters.

Interaction with animal tag vendors, meat plants, export points and marts is now fully electronic, thereby avoiding any paper and providing excellent food traceability assurance.

Our less frequently used applications forms are not available for completion on-line but are however available for download from our Website.