Mr. Paud Evans:

The vast majority of the 500,000 hectares in question is declared by farmers who receive the single farm payment. Each year, just 130,000 hectares are declared as eligible lands from which the applicants do not benefit for single farm payment purposes. Many of the people in those cases benefit from the disadvantaged areas, rural environment protection or agri-environment options schemes. They are making claims under the direct payment schemes or the agri-environment options scheme. Most of the land in Ireland is declared by people who receive the single farm payment. That will not be an issue for us. I must inform Deputy Ó Cuív that I cannot look into a crystal ball to see what kind of regime we will have. It is possible that one of the solutions that could be implemented in Ireland will involve farmers bringing a set percentage of their current payment into the new regime. That would depend on the level the ceiling is at, on the final outcome of the greening process and on whether the payment is separate or attached to direct aid. That would not bring extra funds to commonage areas in the west of Ireland, in particular; it would dilute the unit value of the entitlements of the individual farmers. It depends on the type of system.