337 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the percentage of farm accounts which are certified by accountancy firms; and if there are guidelines for the form of accounts which are acceptable to his Department for payment of European Union grants. [2175/02]

My Department does not keep records of farm accounts which are certified by accountancy firms. The submission of accounts by self-employed individuals, such as members of the farming community, is a matter for the Office of the Revenue Commissioners.

In relation to on-farm investment schemes operated by my Department and which are in part co-financed by the European Union, the European Commission have not introduced relevant guidelines. However, my Department has introduced certain conditions requiring that the following documents must be submitted by an individual with his-her application: (i) non-farm income assessed under PAYE system: A P60 for the tax year prior to application with written confirmation from a professional accountant-tax consultant stating the applicant has no other non-farm income other than the PAYE income; (ii) non-farm income not assessed under PAYE system – accounts certified by a professional accountant-tax consultant for the previous tax year or a farm profile, stamped as having received by the Revenue Commissioners for the previous tax year; and (iii) no non-farm income declared – a letter from a professional accountant-tax consultant confirming that there was no non-farm income in the previous tax.