Mr. Colm Hayes:

The 5 acre figure sounds high. I am almost certain we fund forestry proposals for a lot less than 5 acres under the forestry programme. There are obvious benefits to the planting of trees under agri-environment schemes that we all need to consider, as the Deputy said, such as planting along water courses and in corners. One of the initiatives we have pushed heavily this year under the mid-term review of the forestry programme is agri-forestry which is exactly like the Deputy said. It involves planting in strips, which still allows grazing by animals. It still allows harvesting of silage and forage. It is something we have not engaged with. It is more common on the Continent. We have not engaged with it to a great extent. We have tripled the rates under the forestry programme for it. It broadens out the forestry question and it is something we want to drive next time around. That thinking in terms of what role the planting of trees might play under agri-environment schemes is something we need to give a lot more consideration to.

I will ask my colleague, Mr. Morrin, to respond to the question on the front-loading.

I do not think the Deputy was proposing coupled supports but it was mentioned. We have a longstanding policy here of not having coupled supports under the CAP. We have one exception to that, which is the protein aid scheme but in terms of livestock it is not something we have done for a long time now. The Minister has been very clear on this in the face of calls for €200 payments for suckler cows and that kind of thing. If we are to fund that, it has to come from the overall envelope which could mean a linear cut to everybody's payment. It is effectively a coupled support. Is that the best solution? Is it the best use of money? I think the Minister was quite clear on that. From an environmental point of view it is the best thing to do. It is essentially incentivising - or forcing - people to retain animals they may not otherwise want because they want to be part of the scheme. I do not see us in any way going back to the days of coupled supports under the next CAP and the regulations do not allow for a lot of it anyway.

I will ask my colleague to provide some detail on the question of front-loading and redistribution.