Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Question 532: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider ensuring that all sheep inspections, particularly for hill land sheep farmers, will not be carried out during the lambing season due to the distress being caused to pregnant ewes. [28008/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department, in the context of delivering the Direct Payments Schemes is required to carry out annual inspections covering land eligibility and cross compliance to ensure compliance with EU regulatory requirements.

Eligibility checks for land must be carried out on 5% of applicants. These checks are carried out to verify that the actual area claimed on the application form corresponds to the area farmed by the farmer and to ensure that any ineligible land or other features are correctly deducted. Up to two-thirds of these inspections are carried out without a farm visit as the information is verified using the technique of remote sensing via satellite.

The rate of inspections for cross-compliance is 1% of applicants to whom the Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) and Good Agricultural Condition (GAEC) apply. However 3% of farmers must be inspected under the bovine identification and registration requirements while 3% of sheep/goat farmers must be inspected covering 5% of the flock.

In conducting a sheep inspection, every effort is made by officials of my Department to minimise disruption to farming activities and to avoid stress to livestock on the holding. Inspection timings are organised to avoid in as far as is possible conducting inspections when lambs are young or the need to bring sheep down from the hills. Where young lambs are found particular care is taken to avoid such risks as mis-mothering.