Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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982. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason further inspections on farmers are being carried out (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20955/20]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is the competent authority for the carrying out of official controls to verify that dairy farms are fully compliant with the EU Hygiene Package of legislation on the production, control and marketing of products of animal origin and animal health issues in relation to the production of, inter alia, dairy products.

Official controls are carried out annually by my Department on a sample of milk supplier farms selected on a risk-basis throughout the country.

These official control requirements are quite distinct from the audits carried out by Bord Bia as part of farmers' membership of the Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS).