East Londonderry farmers

The issue of inaccuracies on the maps for single farm payment applications has already affected over 100 farmers in East Londonderry, with fields vanishing altogether from the maps.

Now, Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill has faced a grilling at Stormont over whether the inaccuracies, which she says have largely been resolved, will cause payment delays.

DUP MLA William Irwin asked the Minister: “Given the significant levels of error within the new land parcel identification system maps, can she give an assurance that minor map errors within single farm payment applications will not cause a delay when payments are made in December?”

Michelle O’Neill replied: “As was reported to the Assembly in March, because of a technical fault, a minority of maps were issued with fields missing. That problem was quickly rectified, and the affected farmers were provided with additional time to check and update maps.”

She continued: “It remains the case that if an inaccuracy is found on a claim, DARD is required under EU legislation to consider whether penalties apply. I am aware that there have been circumstances this year in which farmers may have found it difficult to get accurate information about specific fields in a timely way. Although I hope that most claims will be accurate, we will consider situations in which it may be inappropriate to apply penalties. Of course, that is in the context that the farmer remain responsible for compliance with the scheme rules and that sums of money incorrectly claimed will still need to be recovered. I encourage any farmers who have changed their 2013 application but have not advised us of the corresponding changes to the fields on the map to contact their local DARD office or send us a land parcel identification system (LPIS) correction form by 10 June. That will help to avoid unnecessary delays in establishing a correct payment.”

However, Mr Irwin continued to ask questions: “My information from officials in her Department is that they are very concerned that there will be a large number of minor inaccuracies. If that is the case come December, it will create a minefield for departmental staff, and the issue will mean that many farmers will not get their payment until later in the springtime. Can the Minister waive small and minor errors to ensure that farmers will get their payments? Her departmental staff are telling me that there will be a real issue.”

Mrs O’Neill responded: “At this stage, just after the closure of the single farm payment application process, it is too early to say whether there is a proper assessment of the types of errors. It is fair to say that we are very hopeful that that will not be the case. Farmers have been very constructive. As you know, the process of mapping and claiming single farm payments is very much a partnership approach. It is fair to say that everything did not go as well as expected.”