Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Tom Hayes, for taking this matter.

As the Minister of State knows, there was a protest outside his Department today by farmers from many counties, especially those along the west coast and the south west, about GLAS and, in particular, the restrictions the Minister of State and the Minister are placing on that scheme by requiring a minimum of 50% of all farmers involved in a commonage to participate in the scheme in order for any one farmer to be involved in it. I know from the response to a parliamentary question I tabled that it has been reduced from a previous threshold of 80% of all farmers participating. However, I would like to highlight some very pertinent figures in respect of the nonsensical behaviour of the Department and the Minister of State and the Minister in trying to put in this threshold and the impact it will have which is that the vast majority of farmers with commonage will be excluded from participating in GLAS.

Nationally, there are 14,929 farms with commonage, which is approximately 11% of all farms. Of that 14,929, 3,500 farmers participated in REPS, which was a 24% take-up by farmers with commonage. Farmers could join REPS individually and it was not dependent on other farmers joining. It also had a maximum payment rate of €12,000. This new GLAS scheme has a maximum payment rate of €5,000. Unlike the previous schemes, farmers cannot join it on their own but can only join if 50% of all other farmers who have use of a commonage join. The experience is that only 24% availed of previous schemes. Unless the Minister of State and Minister reverse this decision, they will block farmers who have commonage from participating in GLAS.

Many of these farm households have lower incomes compared to average incomes. For example, the average beef farm income last year was €15,000 while the average sheep farm income was €11,000, which was significantly down. Although this new GLAS scheme has a lower income threshold of €5,000, it would represent a big proportion of the income for the average beef or sheep farmer and yet the Minister of State and the Minister, through these proposals, are excluding many of the most vulnerable family farms from participating in this scheme.

Will the Minister of State address those points in his reply? Will he clarify when farmers will be able to get their first payment under GLAS? Is it correct that it will not be until the end of the first year in which case farmers will not be able to get a payment under GLAS until 2016 at the earliest? It is unacceptable, in particular for low income family farmers, to be deprived of an essential payment and part of their income for such a long period of time.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy McConalogue for raising this very important issue for many farmers. It gives me the opportunity to clarify many of the issues around the new scheme, GLAS. GLAS is designed around core requirements which all applicants must satisfy. These are that an approved agricultural planner must prepare the GLAS application; a nutrient management plan for the whole farm must be in place before payment issues; the applicant must participate in training courses for specific actions; and proper record keeping will be essential. These are all very basic and essential items.

A tiered approach is being applied to entry into the scheme and these tiers are based on a consideration of priority environmental assets and actions. The tiered approach will give priority access to farmers with important environmental assets, such as Natura sites, farmland habitats, high status water areas or commonage land.

The tiers will operate as follows and it is important for me to outline them. Tier 1 will be farms with priority environmental assets, such as important habitats - privately owned Natura areas, SPA and SACs - important bird species, high status water courses, commonage land or rare breeds; a whole farm stocking rate exceeding 140 kg organic manure per hectare which must be produced on the holding provided they agree to certain related mandatory actions; more than 30 ha of arable crops, again provided they agree to certain related mandatory actions; or what I presume everybody welcomes, registered organic farm status. In the case of commonage owners, priority access under tier 1 is guaranteed if they can achieve an 80% participation level in a collective.

Tier 2 is farms with other key environmental assets; commonage owners who secure a minimum of 50% collective participation; a whole farm stocking rate less than 140 kg livestock manure per hectare; or less than 30 ha of arable crops undertaking key environmental actions.

Tier 3, farms which do not fulfil any of the criteria for tiers 1 or 2 but which commit to a series of general environmental actions, will qualify. As 25,000 to 30,000 farmers are being accommodated under the scheme, in all likelihood, the vast majority of tier 1 and tier 2 applicants will qualify.

The proposed maximum payment is €5,000 per annum with the scheme building up to the inclusion of more than 50,000 farmers with a total envisaged expenditure of €1,450 million over the programming period. It is also proposed that, within budget limits, a GLAS+ payment would be put in place for a limited number of farmers who take on particularly challenging actions which deliver an exceptional level of environmental benefit. It is proposed that this payment will be up to €2,000 per annum, in addition to the €5,000 already paid under GLAS.

I would like to set out some of the background to our proposals on commonages, which Deputy McConalogue-----

Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Could the Minister of State keep the rest of his speech for the last two minutes?

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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The rest of it deals with the commonages which the issue is about.

Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State has used his four minutes. Deputy McConalogue has two minutes and the Minister of State can respond in the two minutes he has left.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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It is important for the Deputy to know what is in the commonage-----

Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I have to abide by the rules.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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It is unfortunate that the Minister of State has not really dealt with the particular questions I asked.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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If the Deputy gives way, I can.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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Yes.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy because it is important. I will set out the background to our proposals on commonage. The proposed GLAS scheme must respect the provisions set out in Council Regulation 1305 of 2013 and address key priorities identified at European Union level. Payments under the scheme can only be made in respect of actions going beyond the baseline requirements under the basic payment scheme under pillar 1 of the CAP. In simple terms, this means that a farmer cannot be paid twice for the same commitment under both schemes which is only fair.

Since the introduction of agri-environment schemes in the 1990s the pillar 1 baseline has been progressively raised for each programming period and this challenges us all in putting together schemes that will gain approval at European Commission level. Farmers are required under the basic payment scheme to maintain land in good agricultural and environmental condition and commonage land is no exception to this requirement. We must also remember that the European Commission contributes significantly to the GLAS scheme.

A key element of the new strategy for managing commonages under GLAS is the development of a collective approach, where the majority of shareholders come together to manage the land in the best interests of the broader environment.

5 o’clock

GLAS is an environmental scheme and all measures proposed under the scheme must make a clear contribution towards better environmental management of agricultural land. As I have already explained, a two-tier system is being put in place to guarantee commonage owners prioritised access to GLAS: Top priority will be given to those who can achieve 80% or more participation in the collective, but if a minimum of just 50% participation can be secured, that will guarantee second-tier access to the scheme. I hope that clarifies the position for Deputy McConalogue. I believe this concession, which was introduced last month, will significantly ease the burden of securing agreements, while at the same time providing a critical mass for management of the commonage, which can be expanded upon in future years.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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Unfortunately, the reply does not address a couple of the key concerns I put to the Minister, which farmers raised this morning. They felt they had to come to Dublin to protest. I outlined that the average beef farm income is €15,000 and the average sheep farm income is €11,000. By and large, farmers with commonage attached have small incomes. The key point I made to the Minister is that under REPS and previous schemes, which were much more financially viable for farmers, only 24% of farms with commonage signed up to them. What is required for farms with commonage is that at least half of the farmers involved in the commonage must sign up to GLAS at the same time in order for anyone to be able to participate. Given the history of such schemes that simply will not be possible. The Minister is blocking one tenth of farms across the country from participating in GLAS. A higher proportion of farms in Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Connemara and Kerry in particular will be affected. The farmers will be blocked from participation in a valuable scheme. Unless the Department changes its approach it will defeat the entire purpose behind the scheme. Under previous environmental schemes an individual farmer could apply and did not need 50% of farmers using commonage land to sign up at the same time. Individual farmers could introduce environmentally friendly measures on their farms and on the commonage areas. What will be achieved is blocking any farm with commonage attached from participation in the scheme. Even farms that no longer use the commonage will not be able to apply because they cannot meet the terms of the scheme. The Minister must rethink the scheme and listen to what was said by the farmers who came to Dublin to make their views heard and to get the attention of the Ministers in the Department. Unless the Department completely changes its approach it will cut out one tenth of the lowest income farm families in the country from a very important scheme, which would be instrumental in allowing them to continue in farming.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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I wish to be helpful on the matter. I assure Deputy McConalogue that we are open to hearing suggestions on the scheme. Last night at 8 p.m. we met the farmers who were protesting. In the next two weeks we will meet the IFA to discuss the matter. We have agreed on a course of action. The programme has not yet gone to Brussels but when it does it must be acceptable in order to qualify for grant aid. Most of the money for the scheme will come from Europe. We should not send out the message that the scheme is an income-based one. The scheme is an environmental one and it will not be accepted unless we can prove the measures it contains will help the environment.

One cannot compare it with the previous REP scheme to which anyone could sign up. It involved a more simplified approach but we are living in tighter economic times and we must justify the money that is being spent. Deputy McConalogue did not mention the 80% and 50% options. The planner who is required for scheme applications can bring together those who own the commonage. There is a way around the problem from an environmental point of view. We are open for consultation. We will meet the IFA. I will facilitate anyone who wishes to discuss the matter but one must remember that the bottom line is that it is an environmental scheme and it is wrong to send out the message that it is an income-related scheme. It might be treated in that way by some when they are lobbying, which is fair enough, but the reality is that when the plan goes to Brussels it must stand up from an environmental perspective. The measures it contains must be viable for the scheme to be successful. If the scheme is rejected money will not be sanctioned. I hope that clarifies the position. We are open to talk to people in general and to the farming organisations.