The Department of Agriculture has ramped up land eligibility inspections, with more inspectors stepping foot on farms in the last two years.

In 2019, approximately 8,000 checks were carried out on the area claimed by farmers.

Department figures, seen by the Irish Farmers Journal, show that inspections increased by almost 10% from 7,403 to 8,068 between 2017 and 2018.

While most were satellite checks (85%), physical inspections by Department officials have increased by 33% in the last two years. Some 1,200 on-farm inspections were conducted in each of the last two years, compared to 900 in the previous two years.

Despite the increase, farmer compliance has improved to 85%, with 6,828 inspections incurring no penalty in 2018.

IFA deputy president Richard Kennedy said inspected farmers, regardless of compliance, faced payment delays of up to two months.

The Department carried out 5,813 cross-compliance inspections in 2018 with a quarter resulting in a penalty.

The Department said the variation in the number and type of inspections was due to the locations selected for satellite inspections, the outcome of a risk selection process, and meeting the minimum required percentage requirement in each area-based scheme.