THE Department of Agriculture will no longer inspect all the farms of applicants for the Rural Environment Protection Scheme under which farmers draw up plans for environmentally sensitive farming.
Last year, the Department found anomalies in the plans which professional planners draw up for farmers. The plan forms a contract which the farmer enters for five years.
But on inspection, the Department discovered that in many cases work promised in the plan had not been delivered and there were indications that some applicants were attempting to defraud the Department and the EU.
The Department decided it would inspect every farm for which there was a plan when the farmer applied for his or her second year payment under the scheme.
Last weekend the Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Jimmy Deenihan, said checks carried out so far indicated that most farmers were complying with their obligations and knew the philosophy of REPS and the work to be carried out.
"Because the results of these checks have been very satisfactory the level of checking has been reduced from 100 per cent to 50 per cent and will be reviewed further in the light of continuing results," he said.
Of the 8,000 participants due second year payments, he said, more than 4,000 had been paid some £15 million and he urged the rest to apply as quickly as possible.
Farmers can qualify for payments of up to £5,000 per year on foot of the five year contract which specifies how the land will be used.
The livestock levels to be farmed, the lower use of fertilisers and the conservation of habitat are the central features of most plans.