Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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146. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his response to the recommendation by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine that the new investigations division in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine should possess no authority to determine direct farm payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6620/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Single Payment to Farmers forms a significant component of farmer income in Ireland. This EU measure recognises the importance of ensuring that sufficient numbers can derive a worthwhile livelihood from farming, which in turn helps to ensure food security as well as contributing to the overall Irish and EU economies. There are basic obligations attached to the receipt of the Single Payment and in order to ensure the required levels of compliance, checks are carried out based on risk. There is a Division within my Department tasked with the administration of the EU Single Payment scheme. This scheme involves an annual payment made to farmers subject to compliance with certain conditions.

Under cross compliance requirements, a farmer receiving direct payments is required to respect the various statutory obligations set down in EU legislation on animal identification, food safety, animal health and welfare. Non-compliances in these areas, detected by any authorised officers controlling these areas are cross-reported by these officers to the Division dealing with Single Payment. In all cases, decisions regarding whether a penalty is to be applied, and the extent of any such penalty, is purely a matter for the Division dealing with the Single Payment Scheme.

Staff from my Investigations Division, like those in all other Divisions who come across non-compliances during the course of inspections or investigations, are obliged to cross-report non-compliance to the Division who have responsibility for the Single Payments. Investigation Division staff take no part in deciding the outcome regarding the application of a penalty.

Ireland enjoys an excellent farming reputation worldwide and this extends to the production of top-class food derived from animals kept under well-regulated conditions pertaining to identification, traceability, animal health and welfare. In advance of each annual application under the Single Payment Scheme, applicants receive detailed information regarding the conditions that must be met in order to qualify for payment. Rigorous checks are carried out by staff from my Department to ensure that the required standards are being observed. When non-compliance is detected, a graded system of penalties may be applied based on extent, severity and permanence of the non-compliance. Furthermore, applicants who receive a penalty under the scheme have the right to appeal the decision to the independent Agricultural Appeals Office. This provides comfort to applicants that in the event of a penalty being applied, the applicant can have the matter re-examined by someone who had no involvement in the earlier determination. The success of the Single Payment Scheme relies on a balance between the provision of adequate information to applicants facilitating compliance on the one hand, and the performance of a fair and reasonable inspection regime verifying compliance on the other.