Mr. Thomas Harty:

I will explain how biophysical designation worked. To be deemed biophysically constrained, a farmer had to meet at least one of the criteria listed, at least 60% of the townland. Some townlands had one over 60% applying whereas, the Deputy is correct in saying that others had all of them. However, within the regulations it was that at least 60% of the utilisable agricultural area had to be constrained.

As we set out in our opening statement, it then had to be fine-tuned. In our case, we used a stocking rate and arable and the effects that people had learned to live with or functioned with the constraint. These became fine-tuned out. In the areas on the map marked pink, some would not have hit the biophysical status, so they would not have got over 60%, where others may have hit that level but, following fine tuning, they then came back out. There are other specific constraints at play. Different pink areas on the map are not in the new scheme for different reasons. Some did not hit the biophysical threshold and others did but were fine-tuned out because of stock levels or the level of arable land. We have had discussions with all the farm bodies. There has been broad agreement that the money would move towards the areas of greatest constraint. Both the percentage increase and the amount increase was greater in the mountain areas. We anticipate that would broadly be the case in the allocation of moneys to these areas in the new scheme.