Dan Neville (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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277. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 431 of 04 November, 2014 if the extent of the fine will be reduced. [43286/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Under any Department scheme, the onus is on each applicant to ensure that his/her claim is accurate; otherwise s/he may suffer the potential consequences of an under-claim or an over-claim. While the Department employs Inspectors to protect its interests, an applicant employs a forestry company to protect his/her interests and this includes submitting an accurate claim on the applicant’s behalf. In line with this, the applicant employed his forestry company, which prepared the claim form in respect of his plantation, together with the species map with the “Area Certified by” a company professional. This certified claim was submitted in November 2001.

With regard to the applicant making the Department aware of the over-claim, he informed the Single Farm Payment Division in his 2013 application that the over claimed area should be included in his claim for Single Farm Payment. He made the request “Move boundary to ditch along forestry”. It was this request to increase his Single Farm Payment that led to the discovery of the forestry over-claim. Given the circumstances, there are no mitigating factors to support a reduction in the amount of the overpayment that had to be recouped. (There was no penalty or fine imposed for over claiming.)

The applicant has recently discussed his case with a Department official; and he has undertaken to forward a map outlining what he believes are the correct boundaries of his plantation. On receipt of this map, the matter can be reviewed.