Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for facilitating the meeting along with other members when Deputy Carthy and I put in the request.

I welcome the different farming organisations. I have a few questions for them. Are they united that it is a worrying development that for the first time in 20 or 25 years there is a different meaning for both mineral soils and peaty soils when farmers seek single farm payment eligibility? Are they concerned about that? I want to hear clearly whether they are all opposed to this and at one in making it clear to the Minister that they will not accept this on behalf of farmers. Are they agreed, as one, about derogations? No more than what we have seen, we saw it with turf years ago in one that never existed and we saw it with water when there was a debacle about water. We have seen approximately ten different derogations to a member state. Bear in mind, this is not to a farmer. This is to the member state. As things go down the road, the witnesses should bear one issue in mind. I have a Commission document in my possession. I had a meeting with the INHFA last week and I gave Mr. O'Donnell a copy of it. There is a document that states - Pillar 2 is where I can see many farmers getting sucked in - one will have to do X, Y and Z, be it under an environmental scheme, under eco-schemes or whatever, and one will go do that road but there will be no going back to having that land as eligible for single farm payment. Then this so-called other system, called a derogation, will kick in.

The Department will argue that it is not a derogation but I have a document in my possession proving that it is a derogation. Are the witnesses concerned that, as a result of this new system, huge areas of the country will be under pressure, from Donegal right down to Kerry and places such as Cavan, Monaghan, Westmeath, areas of Wicklow, parts of where Michael Collins is from in Cork and Tipperary? Senator Lombard made reference to the payment system but the first thing we need to do is get this sorted. This is the part of CAP that must be sorted. If farmers go outside the system in the context of the derogation, assuming the derogation is renewed, they will end up in trouble in ten or 15 year's time, when the guys in the farming organisations and we politicians have moved on. We saw what happened with the animal medicines issue. We know what Ireland had and what we had to do but now we are caught in a snare.

Are the witnesses at one in saying that they are not accepting this? Do they agree that farmers in Donegal, in the Golden Vale or in County Meath must be treated as one when they apply for their single farm payment and that this new system of derogation under GAEC is not acceptable? We can debate this at length and I would argue with Senator Lombard that for the last 25 years, there was an economic effect on farmers in the west and north west because of a lack of money received from Europe. That could be said about farmers right around the country but they were definitely down the ladder a bit. This is a bigger picture and I would worry about it. Do any of the witnesses think that if this land is taken out of the main single farm payment criteria, down the road it will be moved under the remit of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in terms of biodiversity? We must look at all of this together. Ireland has signed up to the 2030 biodiversity strategy which will see 30% of the country designated. That is what we have committed to through the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan. Approximately 10% of that will be an area that we will not even put our foot on. With the best will in the world, we can look for as much State land as possible but that will be gone by the wayside. In terms of the bigger picture, if we take this land out and declare that it is not eligible under the normal CAP but that there is a derogation, down the road it will come under the biodiversity strategy.

I have a question for the witnesses and the Department. I saw a reference in the document from Europe to the effect that farmers will not be allowed to open drains or do certain works on their land. Where are we going in the context of marginal land if we cannot clean a drain or do things like that? Are the farming organisations at one in terms of rejecting this? The Minister can make the decision to try to have this removed.