Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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298. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farms that have had satellite inspections to date in 2020, by county in tabular form; the number in each county that have had penalties applied as a result of satellite inspections by county; the number of expected satellite inspections for the remainder of 2020, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30607/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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A total of 6,673 applicants under the various 2020 area-based schemes have been selected for a remote sensing inspection. To date, inspection results have been received for 4,215 cases. My Department does not provide county specific breakdowns on inspections as the annual inspection programme, including the risk analysis selection process, operates on a national basis and county comparisons are meaningless.

In line with changes secured to the EU regulations this year, my Department has arranged to process advance payments in cases selected for satellite inspection where such inspections are not yet completed and where no other errors are present on the case.

In light of this new arrangement for inspection cases, in particular taking into account that the final eligibility status will not be known until the inspection process is fully completed and the final payment position established, it is not possible to provide the Deputy with meaningful information in relation to penalties arising on a national level as a result of satellite inspections at this time. The full position will not be available until after balancing payments are issued later in the year.