Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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25. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider an amnesty for farmers being penalised retrospectively due to unintentional over-claiming of payments due to changes in EU land eligibility technology. [26142/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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While there is no option to apply an amnesty in the case of those adversely affected by the ongoing land eligibility review, I can reassure the Deputy that every effort is being made to protect the interests of all Irish farmers during the process, including the interest of the majority of farmers, who were fully compliant in the declarations they made on an annual basis under the Schemes.

The issue of land eligibility is particularly crucial in the context of the various area-based schemes operated by my Department. The Deputy will be fully aware of the value of these EU funded Direct Payment Schemes, with farmers benefiting annually from funding of over €1.5 billion under Schemes such as the Single Farm Payment Scheme, the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme, the Agri-Environment Schemes, etc.

The European Commission has an obligation to ensure that Member States manage and use the EU funding granted to them in accordance with the very restrictive provisions governing the Schemes and general financial provisions. Under the Common Agricultural Policy, this is done by way of a Clearance of Accounts procedure. This is a formal process and both the Commission and Member States are obliged to adhere to the requirements laid down in the legislation.

Deputies will be aware of the process, which involves audit missions, follow-up correspondence, a formal bi-lateral meeting followed by further correspondence, leading ultimately to the Commission’s letter of findings. This letter, which was recently received, proposes significant corrections totally €181.5m, significantly ahead of the level that might reasonably have been anticipated.

However, we have the right, and fully intend availing of this right, to ask for the matter to be reviewed by the Conciliation Body. This body will review the case and seek written and oral observations from each party. It will make its recommendations, which the Commission will consider before arriving at its final definitive decision. Ultimately it is open to each Member State to initiate legal proceedings in the European Court of Justice in relation to the Clearance decision.

This is an extremely serious process. During the years 2002 to 2012, the Commission imposed financial corrections amounting to almost €5 billion on Member States. Ireland’s share of this total amounted to €25.6 million (or 0.5% of the total amount corrected – one of the lowest percentages among Member States). Under the EU Regulations, the Commission has to right to impose a flat-rate correction of 2%, 5%, 10% or greater, depending of its assessment of the risk to the EU Fund involved.

On the other hand, the level of the correction can be based on the assessed risk, if the Member State can establish the risk and the Commission is satisfied with the calculations. In such circumstances, if the risk is dealt with by the Member State by collecting the debts arising from the over-payments, the amounts collected is taken into account by the Commission in its final assessment. This is the approach Ireland is following.