More than 1,000 farmers were fined almost €220,000 as a result of land eligibility checks last year, Department of Agriculture figures show. It carried out 7,111 land eligibility checks in 2016, of which 898 were on-the-ground inspections and 6,213 were carried out by satellite.
More than 1,000 farmers were fined almost €220,000 as a result of land eligibility checks last year, Department of Agriculture figures show.
It carried out 7,111 land eligibility checks in 2016, of which 898 were on-the-ground inspections and 6,213 were carried out by satellite.
The majority of farmers inspected, some 87% or 6,044 farmers, were found to be in line with the rules.
However 1,067 farmers were fined for overclaiming on eligible land.
Of that, 771 farmers had a reduction in eligible area imposed of less than 3% or less than 2ha.
Some 210 farmers received a penalty of between 3% and 10%, while another 86 farmers had a penalty of more than 10%.
Average
The 1,007 farmers were fined a total of €219,566, or €218 each on average. This was less than half of the total land eligibility penalties imposed in 2015 and just one-sixth of the €1.37m land eligibility penalties meted out in 2014.
Inspectors found that more farmers in Co Mayo (158) overclaimed on land than any other county last year. They were fined almost €40,000 in total, or €250 each on average.
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