Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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559. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures in place to ensure land eligibility inspectors follow correct procedures when carrying out inspections; the reason there are cases in which it is the inspector's word against the farmer's word; if measures will be put in place to prevent this happening; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35792/21]

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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560. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if presumption of truth applies to farmers in inspections by his Department; if the word of an inspector supersedes that of the farmer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35794/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 559 and 560 together.

The EU regulations governing the Direct Payment Schemes and Rural Development measures require the Department to conduct inspections to ensure compliance with land eligibility requirements. These requirements are detailed in EU Regulation and in the Scheme Terms and Conditions. Furthermore there are comprehensive procedures for the conduct of land eligibility inspections.

All Department's inspecting officers are well trained. All inspections are subject to internal and external audit to ensure consistency of approach and correct application of procedure.

Measures to assist farmers during the inspection process are prescribed both in EU regulations and in the Farmers' Charter. These include the right to advance notice of an inspection (except in certain cases where giving advance notice would limit the effectiveness of the inspection), the right to be represented at the inspection, the right to comment on the inspection report or notice of findings on the day of inspection when counter-signing the inspection report, access to a Review System and Appeals Process as well as the Department's Customer Complaints Process. These processes are designed to give the farmer an opportunity to submit any relevant comments or information relevant to the inspection.

If an applicant is dissatisfied with the outcome of an eligibility inspection or disagree with the outcome of the inspection, they may, following receipt of the interim notification submit any additional information in writing to the local District Superintendent. The final inspection findings are then outlined in a final notification letter having taken into consideration any comments submitted by the applicant. The applicant may then seek a review of the decision to the District Inspector for their region. This process and the relevant contact details will be outlined in the final notification issued to the applicant.

In the event that the applicant is dissatisfied with the outcome of a review, the decision can be appealed to the independent Agriculture Appeals Office, within three months of the date of review decision letter.

If the applicant feels that their case has been dealt with unfairly by the Agriculture Appeals Office, they can raise the matter with the Office of the Ombudsman, 18 Lower Leeson St., Dublin 2.

Separately, the farmer may use the Department’s customer complaints procedure if s/he is unhappy with the service provided by the Department. Full details are available on the Department’s website.