This article is from page 68 of the 2007-03-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 68 JPG
THE IFA have launched a major of- fensive against the bureaucracy in- volved in on farm inspections this week by circulating a 66 page docu- ment which they claim contain all the possible questions which could be posed to farmers during inspec- tions.
The document, which was circu- lated to a range of politicians and member of the media, is designed to show exactly how much bureaucracy faced by farmers.
According to IFA President, Pa- draig Walshe, the IFA is taking the
bureaucratic Department inspection checklist to all TDs, Senators and political candidates in a nationwide information campaign which he says is gaining reactions of shock and dis- belief.
“Political representatives cannot believe that the Department of Ag- riculture would subject any farmer to a checklist which runs to 66 pages, covering 1,450 different questions, sections and permutations, and re- quires the Department inspectors signatures in 28 different places,” he said.
“When Franz Fischler agreed the new Single Payment system, it was
never intended that 135,000 farmers in Ireland would live in daily fear of an unannounced inspection,’ the IFA President continued.
The Minister for Agriculture must realise that young people will not pursue a future in farming knowing that they will spend their life looking over their shoulder for a Department inspector.”
The IFA believe that the require- ments in the current Department checklist are incomprehensible to farmers and the checklist goes way beyond a reasonable interpretation of the EU regulations.
“In 2006, over 7,500 thousands
farmers were targeted for on-the-spot inspections by the Department under the SPS,” he said. “Over 30 per cent of farmers inspected were deemed to be in breach of the requirements by the Department of Agriculture and 1,389 farmers were penalised finan- GEUINA
“Many 2006 inspections by the De- partment involved no notice whatso- ever to the farmer, more than one 1n- spector and return visits to the farm. The IFA is determined to secure fair play and full recognition of the rights of farmers under the Depart- ment of Agriculture farm inspection 1uss:a bas onl