Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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210. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 92 of 14 May 2015 to outline the training his inspectors receive regarding upland plant ecology and indicators of agricultural activity on marginal lands, to assist them in carrying out land eligibility inspections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27638/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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EU Regulations governing the Direct Payments Schemes and other area-based schemes together with supporting guidance material provide clear direction to member states on all eligibility requirements which must be complied with. The regulations require that a minimum of 5% of applicants must be inspected each year to ensure that the land declared for aid, including commonage type land, is in full compliance with the requirements. My Department has a fully trained Inspection Unit to undertake these inspections. This unit interprets the governing EU regulations as they relate to inspection requirements and implements an inspection process to meet these requirements. The inspections are subject to repeated audit checks by the European Commission and European Court of Auditors thus ensuring an independent verification that inspections are conducted in full compliance with the legal requirements. The inspection process has been amended over time to reflect changes in the governing regulations and also to reflect findings contained in the various audit reports.

Inspecting officers in my Department are regularly trained in inspection requirements on the eligible land cover types and on all the requirements to satisfy eligibility conditions. Continuous oversight by supervisors and random verification inspections are applied to ensure a consistent approach. In addition, the Inspection Unit participates fully at all meetings and workshops organised by the European Commission on all inspection requirements, including land eligibility matters related to the Birds and Habitats Directives, where Commission experts and experts from other EU member states share their knowledge. In this way the Inspection Unit has and continues to build up extensive knowledge on inspection requirements. This ensures that the EU regulatory requirements are being fully met and also that the training of the inspecting officers on inspection procedures is kept up-to-date.