Mr. Joe Condon:

If Ireland were to opt to take on a specific constraint, the requirement would be based on biophyscial criteria and there being two or more of those constraints on an area of land. The ANC payment on its own can be paid on just a single constraint. It is our opinion that hill commonages could fit neatly within this category of specific constraints. Some of the pairings that have been suggested in Brussels involve two or more criteria at 20% margin of threshold. In other words, if one had steep slope and a shallow routing system or peat soil and excess soil moisture, one would qualify. Many other pairings would also fit into those areas. Deputy Martin Kenny referred to percentages. In the case of a specific constraint, 10% of the total area of the country can be included. The other requirement is that there be a similar farming system. The areas we are looking at are geographically contiguous with each other and can be definable as an economic and administrative identity. There is an opportunity there. There are other opportunities from an ANC perspective whereby the member state may take into account the severity of the identified permanent constraint affecting farming or the farming systems within the areas in question. Those are two areas in respect of we see flexibility and which, with the right political will, can be delivered on for the farmers most in need of those payments.