€1,800 inspection bill defended
The Comptroller and Auditor General has estimated that the total cost of the farm inspection service in 2009 was €15.8 million, including direct salary, overheads, imputed pension costs, and travel and subsistence. This covered the cost of all 152 staff in the Integrated Control Division (ICD), and works out at €1,800 per inspection.
Mr Smith said €15.8m includes supervisory and back-up administrative staff, along with 90 technical agricultural officers who carried out the inspections, and full salaries plus 40% for overheads and 13% for pensions.
However, the C&AG report concentrated on 8,650 cross-compliance and eligibility checks, excluding more than 3,000 additional commonage and remote sensing inspections in 2009.
Other additional work by the 152 staff included ‘on the spot’ inspections; liaison with the European Commission, auditors and industry; risk analysis; processing and mapping improvement; and resolving farmers’ queries.
Mr Smith said the inspections protect €1.8 billion of direct payments to farmers each year.
