Suckler Cow Premium Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Interpretation

2.—(1) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(1) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“applicant” means a producer who has applied for premium;

“authorised person” means a person who is authorised by the Department, either generally or specifically, to act in matters arising under these Regulations;

“cattle” means cows and heifers;

“Commission Regulation 3887/92” means Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3887/92 laying down detailed rules for applying the integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes(2);

“Commission Regulation 2342/1999” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2342/1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1254/1999 on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal as regards premium schemes(3) (as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1042/2000(4), Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1900/2000(5), Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2733/2000(6) and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 192/2001(7));

“Council Regulation 3508/92” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3508/92 establishing an integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes(8);

“Council Regulation 820/97” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 820/97 establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products(9);

“Council Regulation 1254/1999” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1254/1999 on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal(10);

“the Department” means the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development;

“electronic communication” has the same meaning as in the Electronic Communications Act 2000(11);

“forage area” has the same meaning as in Article 12(2)(b) of Council Regulation 1254/1999;

“holding” has the same meaning as in Article 3(b) of Council Regulation 1254/1999;

“the IACS Regulations” means the Integrated Administration and Control System Regulations 1993(12);

“livestock unit” means the unit of measurement used to establish the stocking density of the forage area on a holding, and calculated in accordance with Article 12 of, and Annex III to, Council Regulation 1254/1999 by reference to the number of animals on that forage area;

“overgrazing” means grazing land with livestock in such numbers as adversely to affect the growth, quality or species composition of vegetation (other than vegetation normally grazed to destruction) on that land to a significant degree;

“premium” means the premium for maintaining suckler cows and heifers which is payable under Article 6 of Council Regulation 1254/1999;

“premium animal” means, in respect of a given scheme year, a suckler cow or heifer in respect of which an application for premium has been or will be made in that scheme year;

“producer” has the same meaning as in Article 3(a) of Council Regulation 1254/1999;

“Regulation 1760/2000” means Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and requiring the labelling of beef and beef products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No. 820/97(13);

“relevant competent authority” has the same meaning as in the IACS Regulations;

“retention period” means the retention period for premium animals referred to in Article 6(2) of Council Regulation 1254/1999 and starting as indicated in Article 16 of Commission Regulation 2342/1999;

“scheme year” means any calendar year in respect of which premium may be paid but also includes any part of a retention period in relation to an application for premium in respect of a given calendar year which falls within the following calendar year;

“specified control measure” means any check which a Member State is required to carry out under Article 6 of Commission Regulation 3887/92;

“specified record” means any record which an applicant is required to retain by virtue of—

(a)

regulation 7(1);

(b)

Article 3 of the Animals (Records) Order (Northern Ireland) 1997(14);

(c)

Article 7(1) and (4) of Council Regulation 820/97 and the Cattle Identification (Enforcement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998(15);

(d)

Article 7(1) and (4) of Regulation 1760/2000 and the Cattle Identification (Enforcement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998;

and

“unsuitable supplementary feeding methods” means providing supplementary feed (other than to maintain livestock during abnormal weather conditions) in such a manner as to result in damage to vegetation through excessive trampling or poaching of land by animals or excessive rutting by vehicles.

(2) Other expressions used in these Regulations have, in so far as the context admits, the same meanings as in Council Regulation 1254/1999, Commission Regulation 2342/1999 and Commission Regulation 3887/92.

(3) In these Regulations any reference to anything done in writing or produced in written form includes a reference to an electronic communication which has been recorded and is consequently capable of being reproduced.

(1)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.)

(2)

O.J. No. L391, 31.12.92, p. 36, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2721/2000 (O.J. No. L314, 14.12.2000, p. 8) and Commission Regulation (EC) 882/2001 (O.J. No. L123, 4.5.2001, p. 20)

(3)

O.J. No. L281, 4.11.1999, p. 30

(4)

O.J. No. L118, 19.5.2000, p. 4

(5)

O.J. No. L228, 8.9.2000, p. 25

(6)

O.J. No. L316, 15.12.2000, p. 44

(7)

O.J. No. L29, 31.1.2001, p. 27

(8)

O.J. No. L355, 5.12.92, p. 1, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1593/2000 (O.J. No. L182, 21.7.2000, p. 4)

(9)

O.J. No. L117, 7.5.97, p.1, repealed by Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council (O.J. No. L204, 11.8.2000, p. 1)

(10)

O.J. No. L160, 26.6.1999, p. 21

(11)

2000 c. 7

(12)

S.I. 1993/1317 as amended by S.I. 1994/1134, 1997/1148, 1999/1820 and 2000/2573.

(13)

O.J. No. L204, 11.8.2000, p. 1

(14)

S.R. 1997 No. 172 amended by S.R. 1998 No. 27 and S.R. 2000 No. 344

(15)

S.R. 1998 No. 27