Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome my former colleagues from the IFA and thank them for their submission. It was good to hear from them. Since this matter appeared in the Irish Farmers' Journal last November, there has been much talk and much fear among farmers that something would be imposed on them. Consequently, I welcome the opening of dialogue and that farmers will get an opportunity to get around the table. If I go back to my time with the IFA, the wheel has gone full circle on commonage appeals since the overgrazing and destocking of 1997 and 1998.

It is amazing what happens. As I said, the wheel has gone full circle. It is important that a good scheme is put in place. The €242 per hectare on commonages in the REP scheme was good. I would welcome a similar approach. I accept we are in difficult times and a new scheme might not be at the same level but we must aim for such a target. As other speakers have said, farmers in hill areas are on low incomes and they must be helped and supported. We must get older farmers around the table with younger farmers who are trying to get on their feet. If we do not put a good scheme in place to encourage them to get started, the young farmers will not stay and we will see further deterioration in commonage areas.

Commonages are mainly located along the west coast from Donegal to Kerry, but other areas with commonage include Louth, Wicklow and parts of the midlands. Some commonages are still overgrazed. I get lobbied regularly by farmers who have a problem with other farmers on the commonage who put more stock on it than they are supposed to, which puts pressure on everyone. Another problem is the risk of fire where commonage is under-grazed. In 2011, fires were a problem across Donegal and in my area in north Leitrim where a house was burned down. The fire occurred on wasteland and came up through a forested area and burned a lady’s house down. A second house almost caught fire but farmers spread water on it from a tanker. A real danger exists in terms of fire. We met representatives of the National Parks and Wildlife Service last week when they presented an overview of what grows on commonages after they have been burned. The quality of the grass that grows there subsequently is poor. Something must be done in that regard.

We must ensure that no payment is withheld from farmers in the meantime and that payments continue while dialogue is ongoing. We learned from the Department last week that it would be happy with any arrangement as long as the land is kept in good environmental and agricultural condition. Farmers must be facilitated by either a REPS planner or someone from the Department because difficulties arise on commonages, and given the difficulties in finding agreement among farmers, it is important to have an outside chairman for meetings to help sort out issues.

As members have said, farmers in commonage areas are on low incomes, but they spend their money locally in towns and villages. Mr. Fadian made the point well about the life of the local community. We must try to ensure that is continued into the future. We had representatives of the Burren area before the committee. We intend to visit the area. They have a good plan in place. Perhaps we could develop something similar for commonages and get farmers to adopt a plan that might provide a way forward.