Government urged to ease the levels of bureaucracy and form-filling for farmers
Most farmers are sick and tired of increasing levels of form-filling.
A tsunami of red tape is punishing farmers who are trying their best to cope with increasing regulations, the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association has claimed.
It has called on the Government to ease the levels of bureaucracy relating to supports paid through the Common Agricultural Policy.
The standard Government response to similar calls over the years is that it is obliged to account for the significant amount of money it receives from the European Union.
INHFA national vice-president John Joe Fitzgerald, who again recently raised the issue, said most farmers were sick and tired of increasing levels of form filling.
He said they have become more complicated, with never-ending regulations demanding more and more time from farmers.
Mr Fitzgerald said the INHFA has major concerns around the increasing bureaucracy following recent Department of Agriculture demands.
These require the online registration of all farmers on the newly established National Fertiliser Database.
Beyond CAP, he said there are additional European Union and national regulations around habitat and environmental protection.
He claimed these have major financial implications for farmers while delivering little in terms of environmental benefit.
Mr Fitzgerald accepted rules and regulations were required in agriculture the same as in any other industry. But they must be proportionate and not put farmers at a disadvantage.
Referring to the beef and sheep sectors, he said increased access is being provided to EU markets for farm products from non-EU countries that does not have to comply with the onerous regulations that Irish farmers must meet.
Mr Fitzgerald outlined how electronic tagging was introduced in the sheep sector here in 2019 on the basis that it would help market access.
“But today, New Zealand and Australian lamb are getting access to the same EU markets that Irish farmers are selling into.
“Critically though, they are getting this access without electronic tags, while Irish farmers have to endure this additional cost,” he said.
Mr Fitzgerald said there was a growing push to get more farmers Bord Bia-certified on the basis it would help in the delivery of better markets.
"However, with beef prices in freefall, many farmers are questioning the merits and benefits of such a scheme and the onerous requirements associated with becoming and maintaining Bord Bia membership.
“For many more there is also a growing level of anger around the Bord Bia requirement relating to the new Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme,” he said.
Mr Fitzgerald said there was a need for Government and EU policy to take account of the make-up of Irish farms.
“On this basis, it is time for the minister, his staff and EU officials to reconsider how they operate and recognise the enormous and unfair burden their policies are having on farmers and their families,” he said.
The issue of form-filling for farmers was raised in the Dáil earlier this year by Sinn Féin TD Ruairi Ó Murchú, who said multiple State and EU agencies often ask for the same information many times each year.
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Martin Heydon accepted form-filling was a constant source of frustration for farmers.
But he stressed the country must be able to account for the European Union money it is receiving, as do other member states.
“If we are found in audits by the EU not to have administered it appropriately according to the schemes, we can be subject to very significant disallowances and fines.
“I have come to understand very quickly that there is a significant need here. Therefore, we do not look to develop or make things any more complex than they need to be.
“There is a requirement that we must stand over the administering of the EU money, however, which is significantly important to our farmers and to the rural communities in which they are based,” he said.
Mr Heydon said the department tried to keep the level of work to a minimum so as not to burden farmers. However, necessary paperwork was a requirement of many of the schemes and programmes.
He said one of the key performance indicators of the department's information management and technology statement of strategy was the number of services offered digitally, such as form-filling.
These digital services will inter alia have pre-filled customer details as a default for all new digital forms. They will, therefore, recognise the farmer has been there before.
That will take away the need to ask farmers for the same information many times over, he said, adding there was also much streamlining in the department’s online systems.
