Mary Wallace (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

Many developments, including replacing milk tanks, do not require planning permission.

I am glad of this opportunity to set out the position regarding the recent suspension of the farm improvement scheme. The scheme was launched by the Department in July 2007 following the receipt of EU approval for Ireland's rural development programme 2007-13. The scheme provides grant aid up to a maximum eligible investment ceiling of €120,000 for animal housing and related facilities, with a separate ceiling of €120,000 for investments in dairy hygiene. Grant aid was also extended under the new scheme to additional items such as grain bins and silos, out-wintering pads, mats on slats, cubicle beds and internal concrete areas, mobile sheep handling equipment, calf-feeding systems and feeding systems in parlours. Other changes included the removal of all income limits so that all farmers could participate in the scheme and the extension of top-up grants for young farmers to all qualifying applicants under the age of 35.

Under the rural development programme 2007-13, a sum of €85 million was allocated for the modernisation of agricultural holdings, including the farm improvement scheme. This is also the allocation agreed for this area in the partnership agreement, Towards 2016. Some €6 million of this amount was subsequently earmarked for the introduction in 2007 of the pig welfare — sow housing — scheme, thereby leaving an allocation of €79 million for the farm improvement scheme. The Minister made it very clear when launching the scheme last July that a certain financial allocation was provided for this scheme and that it would be suspended when that ceiling was reached. This was also clearly specified in the terms and conditions of the scheme. Everybody, including the farming organisations who were party to the partnership agreement, was aware of this from the outset.

The funding of €79 million for the scheme is part of an overall programme of investment of €350 million which was agreed in the 2006 partnership negotiations for farm waste and other on-farm investment measures. This is part of an overall €8.6 billion of public funding for the agrifood sector as provided for under the partnership agreement and set out in the National Development Plan 2007-13. It is real evidence of this Government's strong and continuing commitment to the further development of this sector.

The need to support farmers to become compliant with the slurry storage requirements of the nitrates directive was a major issue requiring an immediate and effective response from the Government. The Minister therefore introduced the revised farm waste management scheme as a generous and imaginative response. Grant rates of up to 75% are available to farmers under this scheme. The scope of the farm waste management scheme and the extremely generous grant rates resulted in over 48,000 grant applications being received by the Department. Over 34,000 approvals have issued to farmers to commence work. The remaining applications are processed as evidence of full planning permission and other necessary documentation is received from farmers. This is the largest capital investment in the sector in the history of the State and it continues to be the priority for the Minister. Expenditure to date this year under the farm waste management scheme has been €78.3 million, compared with just over €21 million during the whole of the calendar year 2006 and it is expected that expenditure in 2008 will be significantly higher again.

As far as the farm improvement scheme is concerned, over 12,600 applications were received from farmers up to the closing date of 31 October 2007. A wide range of items have been included in these applications, ranging from the purchase of mats for cattle to the installation of new milking machines and bulk milk tanks. Over 1,600 approvals have already issued to farmers to commence work under the scheme and the Department will continue to process these applications up to the level of funding available for the scheme.

As indicated earlier, funding for the farm improvement scheme is provided under the partnership agreement, which also provides for a review of its terms in 2008. In accordance with the terms of that agreement, the review will take stock of the outcomes achieved on the overall goals and consider opportunities to refocus and reprioritise. This is an important consideration in the context of the suspension for now of the scheme as far as new applications are concerned.

There can be no doubt the Government remains strongly committed to the continued development of the sector. The levels of funding proposed over the coming years for on-farm investment are unprecedented. Most importantly, we are also meeting our commitments under the partnership agreement. The uptake on the farm improvement scheme is an indication of the success of the scheme in meeting the needs of farmers. There will obviously be an opportunity in 2008 for all the social partners to review the operation of the various programmes provided for under partnership and, if necessary, to reprioritise within the budget set out in the national development plan.

See this speech in context