Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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387. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the basic farm payment is being deliberately withheld from farmers that have been randomly selected for satellite inspections; when these inspections are due to take place; when the decision to withhold payments on this basis was determined; the number of farmers affected by this decision; if he will ensure such inspections are carried out in advance of the date of disbursement of the basic farm payment in future years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32716/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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EU regulations governing the administration of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and other area-based schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including remote sensing (satellite) inspections, are fully completed before any payments are issued. This is to ensure that payments do not issue on ineligible areas/features, that only eligible applicants are paid, and to avoid an applicant receving an undue payment that would have to be recovered by my Department.

In the case of remote sensing inspections, a comprehensive review of the range of satellite imagery received at various stages during the year must be undertaken to ensure that the actual claimed area in the application form corresponds to the area farmed by the applicant, that the different crop types are as claimed, and that ineligible land or features are not included for payment purposes. The governing regulations further prescribe that where it is not possible to make an accurate determination on the eligibility of a parcel or parcels of land by means of an assessment of the available imagery, a field visit must be undertaken to verify the position on the ground.

Of the 6,500 cases selected for a remote sensing (satellite) inspection across the various area-based schemes, payment of the first instalment of the BPS has issued to 3,789 applicants to date. Payments under Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme (ANC) have issued to 2,932 such applicants to date.

Priority is being given to the processing of all outstanding cases subject to a remote sensing inspection and cases continue to be finalised to payment stage on a daily basis. Regular payment runs are being made for both the BPS and ANC Schemes to ensure prompt payment of fully processed cases.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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388. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the basic farm payment for a person (details supplied) is being withheld until a satellite inspection is carried out; the timeframe for the inspection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32717/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The person named submitted a 2016 Basic Payment/Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme's application on 5 May 2016. EU Regulations governing the administration of these schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including in some cases remote sensing (i.e. satellite) inspections, be completed before any payments issue.

The application of the person named was selected for a remote sensing eligibility inspection. This inspection is currently being processed with the intention of issuing any payments due as soon as possible. In the event that any queries arise, officials in my Department will be in contact with the person named.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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389. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers that have been chosen for satellite inspection over each of the past five years, including 2016 to date, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32718/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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EU regulations governing the administration of the Basic Payment Scheme and other area-based schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including ground or remote sensing (satellite) inspections, are fully completed before any payments are issued. This is to ensure that payments do not issue on ineligible areas/features, that only eligible applicants are paid, and to avoid an applicant receiving an undue payment that would have to be recovered by my Department.

The regulations prescribe that a minimum of 5% of beneficiaries must be subject to a land eligibility inspection and these inspections can be undertaken by means of field visits on the ground or by means of remote sensing using up-to-date satellite imagery. My Department inspects in the region of 90% of land eligibility cases by means of remote sensing.

The following table details the number of cases subject to remote sensing inspections for each of the years 2012 to 2016 by county: