Mr. Colm O'Donnell:

Deputy McConalogue referred to the idea of releasing 70% of the payment, even where there is a dispute on the land eligibility aspect. The national reserve possibly was not managed as well as it ought to have been. There was €25 million in the pot at one time but it now seems there is no reserve for 2016. There may be a small amount of money coming back in due to farmers who did not get land leases in place or were not able to draw down the money. However, for new entrants into the future, there is a good deal of concern. Something similar happened under the last round of CAP payments. It was unfortunate that in the latter years there was a very limited amount of money there. It may have been a failure to have dished out all the money in one year. One could get payment on a maximum of 90 hectares. It might have been wiser, in hindsight, to have looked at managing that money better. The only idea that has come to the table so far on this matter, and it is not very popular, is to go again and cream money off each individual's single basic payment. There have already been enough cuts, however, with more than 10% taken from the most recent basic payment. It is a situation we have landed ourselves in and I am not sure what is the best route forward.

On the ANC scheme, there is a provision under Articles 31 and 32 of Regulation 1305 of 2013 to identify areas with a specific constraint. This has already been identified in the case of Ireland through the designation of the offshore islands. A template is there to look at significantly increasing areas not just with a natural constraint but with a specific constraint. The INHFA will be considering, among other proposals, what might be possible in that regard. A specific constraint is something that is very definite; it is a permanent thing. We hope the committee will look favourably at our proposals in this regard. Mr. Condon might like to elaborate on that issue.