Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 16 June 2015

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Basic Payment Scheme Eligibility: Discussion

2:00 pm

Photo of Tom BarryTom Barry (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the associations and thank them for their presentations. I understand the conundrum in which they find themselves. It does not seem so many years ago that I was in their position applying for installation aid and all that went with it. The system back then was a lot easier, however. One applied for area aid on whatever crops one produced. Once one did it according to the standards, one got paid. I have put down parliamentary questions to the Minister on this. The answer I am getting back is that many farmers in this category have received the benefit of free quota, low-price quota, etc. As Deputy Ó Cuív said earlier, we need to get the facts. I have asked several people affected their details so that we can clearly show that there is unfairness in the system. A little bit of homework needs to be done and all it will take is a few cases to prove it.

I am not happy about the suggestion of a linear reduction in basic payments, in view of the fact that many people, including myself, have already taken a reduction of up to 40%. The associations need to be conscious that it is not a bonanza time for farmers. I agree that we need to support the active farmer. Therein lies the problem. Macra na Feirme stated: “The basic payment should be released from persons who do not want to engage in agricultural production.” That is easier said than done. From what I can see with the single farm payment, in the past, when one produced an acre of grain, one paid, say, €150 per acre and collected a similar figure. However, today, if one rents land from someone who has a single farm payment, the payment goes back to them and then one pays an additional €200 or €300 an acre. The system as it evolved with decoupling has crippled the active farmer. I feel the single farm payment has become a social welfare system for Irish farming. It is not staying with the active farmer but is actually going out to pay for ground. Effectively, what was €150 in rent on land a few years ago is now €150 plus the entitlement. That is going in the wrong direction. If we got the facts and figures on several individual cases, we could get a costing on it and make a good argument on the associations’ behalf.

I also have a disagreement with the use of off-farm income. It should play no role in eligibility for several reasons. Many working spouses of farmers may have lost their jobs. We should also be encouraging diversification and encouraging farmers to earn off-farm income. They should be encouraged to earn, not discouraged from doing so. Off-farm income has kept many farms viable over the past several years. The simplification process in the review is the time to tidy this up. If the associations get the facts behind the stories presented today, then the arguments will be much stronger.

I thank the delegations for attending today’s meeting.

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