Dáil debates

Tuesday, 23 October 2007

7:00 pm

Photo of Mary CoughlanMary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

——where income support is decoupled from production. This only represents the start. Many more building blocks are being put in place to ensure we achieve our ambitious objectives for the sector.

The €8.7 billion agri-food package the Government is making available to the industry under the national development plan represents another significant part of the Government's response to the changed circumstances. This package will not only improve competitiveness through, among other things, support for on-farm investment but will enhance our rural environment and secure farmers' income in the long-term. For consumers and the food industry, because it strengthens our scientific base, it will underpin quality, nutrition and safety of our food supply chain.

The biggest single element of the agri-food package under the national development plan is the rural environment protection scheme, known as REPS. REPS, as befits its name, recognises the multi-functional model of agriculture that lies at the heart of the Common Agricultural Policy, under which farmers are seen not only as food producers but as custodians of the environment and providers of public goods. Through REPS, farmers can deliver benefits to society as a whole in terms of the protection of the rural landscape, increased biodiversity and improved water quality. A measure of the success of REPS is that since the scheme started in 1994, farmers have drawn more than €2 billion in benefits. Last year my Department paid out €330 million and by the end of the year there were 59,200 participants in the scheme.

In August I launched REPS 4, which will run until 2013. It offers payment rates which are 17% higher than the previous version. The average farmer in REPS 4 will qualify for a payment of €7,200 a year over five years. REPS 4 is co-funded by the EU and the Irish taxpayer——

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.