The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is minimising the number of farm visits by “stacking inspections” where possible and liaising with Local Authorities, according to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Minister Charlie McConalogue said that he is “very much aware of the burden of regulation on farmers” and the need to keep the regulatory framework as simple as possible.
The minister, who attended the first meeting of the Agricultural and Fisheries Council under the Hungarian Presidency (Monday, July 15 ) in Brussels yesterday, said that “the pace of regulatory change in the European Union over the past few years has been extraordinary”.
“European support schemes for farmers are there to support farm incomes and any transition to more sustainable farming systems that may be necessary. The payments that flow from these schemes are of vital importance to farmers.
“I am therefore also very cognisant of the State’s obligations to comply with the law, and the potential implications for farm payments of failure to meet these obligations,” Minister McConalogue added.
He said that it is against this backdrop that his department’s objective is to “meet its legal obligations while minimising the burden on farmers”.
“My department minimises the number of farm visits by stacking inspections where possible and by liaising with Local Authorities to ensure that duplication is avoided,” Minister McConalogue added.
He also said that it is important for the European Commission to keep a focus on simplification.
“I have called on the commission and all member states to commit ourselves to the goal of simplification as an ongoing and overarching objective and to ensure ongoing consultation with farmers as we do this,” Minister McConalogue added.