DEAR SIR: I wish to refer to an article that appeared in the Irish Farmers Journal (30 January 2016) entitled “No requirement to apply penalties for incorrectly mapped afforestation areas”.

I would like to correct an inaccurate statement quoted therein and to provide some clarification on this issue. Reference was made in the article to administrative penalties “imposed on farmers” by the [Department’s] Forest Service” and to EU regulation time limits applying to such penalties.

I wish to make it clear that the Department has not in fact notified any debts in respect of administrative penalties, but seeks only to recover any amounts overpaid under the contract. It was further stated that there is no requirement by the EU to recover payments on forests established since 2007 as the Forestry Programme has been fully funded by the Exchequer. While this may be true, the Department, as with any Government body, has a duty to abide by audit requirements to protect public money. In this regard, it must seek to recover any undue payment made under its schemes.

When an applicant is notified of an overpayment, they are provided with details of the reasons for the overpayment and informed that they may seek a review of the debt decision. If an applicant is not satisfied with the outcome of their review, they may appeal the decision to the independent Agricultural Appeals Office. This provides for a transparent process, which allows due process to the applicant while protecting public money.