Tony Gregory (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 567: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his attention has been drawn to the recent report of the Court of Auditors on the failure of cross compliance (details supplied); and if he proposes to publish for farmers the precise obligations deriving from the relevant 19 directives and regulations and define a complete set of verifiable requirements and standards which are understandable for farmers, limited to the farmer's responsibility, applicable and controllable and which take account of the specific characteristics of the areas and farming practices, as recommended in this report. [46542/08]

Tony Gregory (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 568: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his attention has been drawn to the recent report of the Court of Auditors on the failure of cross compliance; and if he will assure the Houses of the Oireachtas that Ireland is not one of the member states that have not implemented effective control and sanction systems which provide sufficient assurance on farmers' compliance. [46543/08]

Tony Gregory (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 569: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will provide details of monitoring of cross compliance to recipients of CAP since 2005 to date in 2008. [46544/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 567 to 569, inclusive, together.

I am aware of the report referred to by the Deputy. My Department conducted a series of countrywide information meetings for farmers on the introduction of the Single Payment Scheme during the latter half of 2004 and again during 2005. In addition, my Department published two separate booklets on the introduction of cross-compliance and copies were sent to every farmer in the country. These booklets dealt with the 18 Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) and Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) under cross-compliance. A separate information booklet dealing with the Nitrates element of cross-compliance issued to all farmers during September 2006 and this was followed in November 2006 by a further series of countrywide information seminars for farmers. More recently, in August 2007, my Department issued a further information leaflet to every farmer in the country setting out, in simple language, what to expect in the event of being selected for an on-farm cross-compliance inspection. All of these information booklets are available on my Department's website www.agriculture.gov.ie.

Ireland also has a farm advisory service (FAS) in the form of Teagasc and private REPS planners. My Department has organised training for these advisers with particular emphasis on the cross-compliance requirements. Details of all the agencies approved as FAS agencies are held on my Department's website and farmers have been encouraged to make use of these agencies. Furthermore, as advertised in the national press, Teagasc, in conjunction with my Department, has recently undertaken practical on farm demonstrations for farmers on the requirements of cross-compliance.

The rate of on-farm inspection required for cross-compliance is 1% of those farmers to whom the Statutory Management Requirements or GAEC apply. However at least 5% of producers must be inspected under the Bovine Animal Identification and Registration requirements as this level is prescribed under the relevant Regulations. In the sheep sector 3% of producers must be inspected annually involving 5% of animals. Over the four years 2005 to 2008, my Department carried out 23,684 on-the-spot inspections for cross-compliance and applied sanctions in 3,811 cases.

I am satisfied that my Department is making every effort to ensure that Irish farmers are fully aware of the cross-compliance requirements. While we have effective monitoring and control arrangements in place, I have asked my officials to examine in detail the recent Court of Audit Special Report and I am happy to consider any recommendations which would further enhance my Department's implementation of the cross-compliance regime.