Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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308. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on current CAP penalties relating to cross compliance and the way in which some farmers are of the view that it is not fair that a non-compliance of animal related cross compliance requirement causes penalties to all area based payments and vice versa; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19061/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Applicants under the Basic Payment Scheme and other EU funded area-based schemes are obliged to comply with the requirements of the Cross Compliance regime. The Cross Compliance regime comprises 13 Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs), set down in EU legislation, and 7 Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) standards on the environment, climate change, good agricultural condition of land, public, animal and plant health and animal welfare.

The EU regulations governing Cross Compliance prescribe a range of penalties to be applied where a non-compliance with the requirements/standards is identified as part of an inspection or is cross-reported to my Department. The regulations further prescribe that penalties must be applied to all area-based schemes for which an individual is an applicant. 

As the requirements for the application of Cross Compliance penalties is governed by EU regulations, my Department cannot deviate from these requirements.