John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 97: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the way individual farmers were made aware of their obligations under the welfare of other animals under statutory management requirement, SMR 18, section 8; if the possible sanctions for non-compliance were outlined and if so, the way individual farmers were informed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8107/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Three information booklets on cross-compliance were published and issued to all farmers in early 2005, August 2006 and August 2007. Furthermore a guide to the Single Payment Scheme was published in March 2011 in the Irish Farmers Journal reiterating farmers obligations in relation to cross compliance including Statutory Management Requirement number 18 concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes. These guides have detailed the Cross-Compliance requirements under the various EU regulations as well as giving information on inspection controls on farms and the sanctions applicable for non-compliance. Information on Cross Compliance was also provided by the Department at various Single Payment Scheme meetings with farmers.

Article 12 of Council Regulation 73/2009 governing the Single Payment Scheme provides that Member States shall operate a system of advising farmers on land and farm management to be known as "the farm advisory system"(FAS). FAS was first introduced in Council Regulation 1782/2003 with a requirement that the system must be in place by 1 January 2007. The system is to be operated by one or more designated authorities or by private bodies. The advisory activity must cover at least the Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) and Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition associated with cross-compliance. The regulation also provides that farmers may participate in the system on a voluntary basis and that Member States may determine in accordance with objective criteria the priority categories of farmer that should have access to the FAS.

Ireland has implemented FAS by approving existing Teagasc and Private planners as FAS advisors with effect from 1 January 2007. Training workshops have been arranged for all approved FAS advisors and, with effect from 2009 Agricultural Science graduates who were not REPS planners have been approved as FAS advisors and received appropriate training. In Ireland some 463 Teagasc and Private REPs planning agencies have been designated since 1 January 2007 as approved Farm Advisory System Agencies following their attendance at a series of Cross Compliance Training Courses. A list of these approved agencies is available on the Department's website www.agriculture.gov.ie. A copy of the presentations given at the training courses referred to is available on the above website. The training courses covered compliance with SMR 18 concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes.