Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question. I take this opportunity to emphasise my commitment to the provision of agri-environment schemes which will continue to support the farming sector in these uncertain times, along with continuing the environmental benefits that such schemes have delivered. This commitment was demonstrated by a number of key provisions in my Department’s budget Estimate for 2021, including the provision of €79 million in new funding for a range of new agri-environment initiatives.

This funding includes a provision for a number of new initiatives and for the development of a pilot project to examine the implementation of results-based environmental actions. The exact amount of the €79 million to go towards the pilot scheme is something I still have to determine, but the new pilot project will have a significant focus on biodiversity and climate change, with the aim of increasing the number of farmers undertaking agri-environment actions, and will be directed at farmers not currently in the green, low-carbon, agri-environment scheme, GLAS. The Department is working on the details of this pilot. It is expected these pilot actions will inform the development of a major new environmental scheme for agriculture following on from GLAS.

In addition, as CAP negotiations are ongoing, my Department is pressing for the earliest adoption of EU regulations to facilitate the operation of schemes in the period between the current CAP and the CAP strategic plan post 2020. The intention is to roll over the existing schemes from the current rural development programme, RDP, and to ensure that scheme participants have certainty on their scheme participation next year during the transitional phase. The budget funding allows for the rollover of GLAS, the beef data genomics programme, BDGP, and sheep welfare schemes subject to the agreement of the European Commission. It is also intended to have tranches of the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, next year with the details to be finalised.

I know the importance of environmental schemes and that the Deputy has advocated for them in the past. Certainly this is a pilot scheme that will be in place next year and will be targeted at those not currently in GLAS.

See this speech in context