Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I take the opportunity, at the outset, to again emphasise both my own and the Government’s commitment to the agri-environment schemes as operated by my Department. These schemes put environmentally friendly farming at the forefront and recognise the vital role farmers play in delivering public goods and in protecting the environment and the natural heritage for the benefit of society as a whole. This commitment is evident in the fact that more than €750 million was spent by my Department on agri-environment schemes in 2010, 2011 and 2012 alone and also in the fact that, despite the financial pressures facing my Department, I provided for a further €200 million in funding in 2013 for expenditure under the rural environment protection scheme, REPS, and the agri-environment options scheme, which is commonly known as AEOS. I also decided to make €20 million available annually to reopen AEOS to new entrants in 2012. A total of 9,703 applications were received by my Department under the reopened scheme and 6,000 have now been approved to participate in the scheme.

The approval of applicants was determined by the level of funding available and on the basis of certain priority selection criteria as set out in the published scheme documentation. Applicants within a targeted area of the Boora region of County Offaly who select wild bird cover option B - grey partridge - will get first access; applicants with eligible Natura land are the next to get access; applicants with at least 0.5 ha. of utilisable agricultural non-Natura commonage land are next; and these are followed by farm partnerships, those with previous participation in REPS, those with farms of a particular size based on the utilisable agricultural area, favouring smaller holdings, and farms located in less favoured areas.

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