Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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186. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of satellite inspections (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38002/16]

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 receiving an undue payment that would have to be recovered by my Department.

In the case of remote sensing inspections, a comprehensive review of the 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 5,176 applicants to date. Payments under Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme (ANC) have issued to 3,582 applicants to date. The balancing payment under BPS will commence issuing this Thursday 1st December and additional completed remote sensing inspection cases will have their full payment under BPS processed as part of this payment process.

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 will continue to be made for both the BPS and ANC Schemes to ensure prompt payment of fully processed cases.