Rural Development (Financial Assistance) (Public Expenditure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

These Regulations, which come into force on 25th February 2009, provide for assistance to be paid towards operations which promote rural development.

The Regulations enable financial assistance to be paid by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (“the Department”) or an agent in respect of operations which it has approved (regulation 3).

The Regulations provide for the making of claims for, and the payment of, financial assistance following approval (regulations 4 to 7) and also impose obligations concerning the provision of information (regulation 8) and record-keeping (regulation 10) on those in receipt of financial assistance. In addition, they introduce a system of penalties to be imposed in the event of a breach of obligations by granting the Department various powers to take action, up to and including termination of the approval, in the event of breaches of the conditions of an approval and in a number of other cases (regulations 11 to 13). Regulation 9 confers powers of entry and inspection on certain authorised persons, whilst regulation 18 creates offences in respect of the furnishing of false information for the purpose of obtaining financial assistance and in respect of obstruction.