Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I will try to be brief. I have said consistently since budget day that we will not be opening an AEOS 3 in the same way as the previous two schemes worked. We do not have the money to do it, and that is the reality. I will try to put together an AEOS scheme which is purely based on giving financial support to farmers who are farming in restrictive conditions because they are in SACs, Natura areas or possibly in commonages also. If a person is farming under restricted conditions due to a land designation, there needs to be some financial recognition of that restriction. I would like to be in a position to put in place a new REPS scheme or a broad AEOS scheme for people coming out of REPS across the country, but we are not currently in a position to do that. The commitment I made is therefore quite a restrictive one. We are maintaining that restriction to SACs or designated areas. We will look at putting a payment in place for farmers operating under those conditions as a recognition of the fact that they are farming within the restrictions of an SAC or commonage framework.

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