Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My Department has used stocking density as one measure of agricultural productivity. While stocking density does not represent all the elements of agricultural productivity, it is a tangible and precise measurement of activity for which data from my Department are readily available. I am aware that Deputies have received these data.

Previous analysis by my Department has found that, using average results per payment category, farmers on payment rates per hectare above the national average have roughly double the stocking density of those below the average. However, they also show that the stocking density of farms on the very highest payment rates - for example, more than €500 per hectare - is not significantly higher than the stocking density of farms just above the national average. This data suggests that while some level of convergence is justified, a complete flattening of direct payments, as originally proposed by the European Commission, is not justified.

Following the successful completion of the negotiations on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, under the Irish Presidency, I launched a consultation process with all relevant stakeholders to ascertain their views on the most appropriate application of the direct payment regulation in light of Ireland’s unique agricultural profile and circumstances. As I indicated, the final date for submissions on the consultative paper was 20 September. The process of analysing all submissions will now begin in conjunction with the ongoing modelling of the various options that are available to Ireland.

There is an ongoing and divisive discussion on this issue. Farmers who are gaining from the new measures wish to maximise their gains, while farmers who are losing want to minimise their losses. I have been transparent in this matter and have travelled around the country selling the new model, under which payments will be redistributed gradually over time. Farmers in receipt of the highest payment will be asked to meet the cost of increases for those in receipt of the lowest payments. We added to this mechanism in the final agreement by guaranteeing a minimum payment of at least 60% of the average.

We have also included an option of introducing a maximum payment per hectare, an issue in which the Deputy has shown an interest, having asked questions on it previously. While I support this option in principle, I do not wish to give an absolute commitment until the consultation process has been completed. By the time the current Common Agricultural Policy has run its course, we will have seen a dramatic redistribution of supports among farmers. This will be done in a fair and gradual manner. While the most productive farmers will, in general, continue to have the highest payments, the gap between the highest and lowest payments will be much narrower.

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