Organic Farming Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 (S.R. No. 237 of 1999).

These Regulations provide for the payment of aid to farmers who undertake to introduce organic farming methods and comply with certain environmental management conditions, pursuant to Article 2(1)(a) and (d) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2078/92 and implement Commission Regulation (EC) No. 746/96 laying down detailed rules for the application of the Agri-environment Regulation. The Regulations, inter alia: (a) enable the Department of Agriculture to make payments of aid, subject to specified conditions; (b)) specify the conditions of eligibility to be satisfied by applicants for aid (reg. 5), certain procedural and formal preconditions for the acceptance of applications for aid (regs. 6 and 9), and certain restrictions on the payment of aid (reg. 7); (c) provide for variations of undertakings given by applicants for aid and amendments to conversion plans (regs. 10 and 11); (d) provide for the payment of aid to a new occupant where there has been a change in the occupation of an organic unit or part of an organic unit due to the death of a beneficiary or otherwise (reg. 12); (e) impose obligations in respect of the keeping of records and confer powers of entry and inspection (regs. 13 and 14); (f) provide for the withholding or recovery of aid and the recovery of interest (regs. 15, 16 and 17); (g) provide for an offence of making a false statement, and make provision in relation to any such offence committed by a corporation (regs. 18 and 19); and (h) close the scheme established by the Organic Farming Aid Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 to further applications (reg. 20).