Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in view of the fact that it was impossible to spray rushes this year, and it was also impossible to cut them because the ground was too wet, if farmers are being told the ground is ineligible if there are rushes on it; if farmers in County Kerry have been notified that their ground is being deem ineligible because of the presence of rushes; if so, the number of farmers that have been told; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51476/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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To be eligible under the Single Payment Scheme, an applicant must ensure that all agricultural land claimed is maintained in good agricultural and environmental condition (‘GAEC’).

Farmers can keep grassland in GAEC by conducting an agricultural activity on it such as grazing, harvesting forage crops, or by topping. Grasslands continue to be eligible where it is evident that the stocking rate on the land is sufficient and, for example, keeps rushes under control and avoids their proliferation. In such situations, the reality is there may not be a necessity to cut rushes. However, where a farmer cuts rushes as part of management practice, with the exception of certain designated lands, there are no restrictions on when this is done, enabling the task to be carried out at any time throughout the year once conditions are suitable.

Where land is deemed ineligible, this, in the main, is a result of the inclusion of ineligible areas/features and is not being used for an agricultural purpose. In cases where land, with rushes, is rejected, it will be seen that this is due to the broader issue of insufficient agricultural activity being undertaken on it to keep it in GAEC. My Department therefore does not maintain records specifically on the presence of rushes since the issue has to be seen in the broader context.

In terms of the conduct of inspections, my Department makes appropriate allowances for the effect of prevailing weather conditions in individual cases.