Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

454. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of on-farm inspections that have been carried out by Department staff in the past 24 months, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30097/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

EU Regulations governing the Basic Payment Scheme and other area-based schemes requires my Department to carry out on-the-spot inspections annually to ensure compliance with eligibility requirements, including land eligibility and compliance with Cross Compliance requirements, as set down in EU legislation, and the standards for Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC), in the areas of the environment, climate change and good agricultural condition of land; public, animal and plant health and animal welfare. These inspections are mandatory and there are certain minimum numbers and types of inspections that must take place annually. The regulations further prescribe the basis for the selection of cases for inspections using risk analysis.

The outcome of 2016 Land Eligibility and Cross Compliance related inspections is currently being finalised and therefore final data on the outcome is not yet available. While 2017 inspections have commenced, inspections will continue throughout the year.

The following table details the number of 2015 applications and Land Eligibility inspections (Ground & Remote Sensing), by county, under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). Area reductions determined under this scheme may also impact on payments under other EU funded area-based schemes. 

2015 LandEligibility Inspections

The following table details the numbers of 2015 BPS applications and the number of  Cross Compliance related inspections, i.e. Full Cross Compliance, Animal Identification & Registration Inspections, LA Nitrates, Ad Hoc inspections, Cross Reports, etc. Penalties for breaches of Cross Compliance apply to payments across all EU funded area-based schemes. 

2015 Cross Compliance Related Inspections