Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

10. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has examined the proposed implementation strategy for commonages here, presented to him recently by the representatives of commonage farmers; if he accepts this strategy as the only practical way forward; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48278/14]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

There is significant concern among farmers in hill areas which include a large amount of commonage about the proposals for GLAS, the green, low-carbon, agri-environment scheme, mainly centred on the collective agreement aspect of the scheme. Allegations were also made by the Department that undergrazing was a major problem caused by farmers. When I sought the maps and details of the places involved, the Department could not provide them. Will the Minister clarify the position on commonages and GLAS?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My approach is to ensure everyone who wants to participate in GLAS will have the opportunity to do so and that the scheme is flexible enough to respond to different types of farming, whether it be in Connemara, east Cork, the midlands or County Donegal.

We have listened to what farmers say. Hill farmers in commonage areas, predominantly in the west - particularly in parts of Counties Galway, Mayo and Donegal - have expressed concerns and we have listened. I met hill farmers from the region recently with Deputy Seán Kyne, who, along with other Deputies, has been hugely vocal on this issue. We are trying to resolve the problems and we have had some success. In the past three weeks we have spoken to the European Commission about accommodating this issue for commonage farmers. We have dealt with concerns relating to Pillar 1 payments, so farmers in commonage are not now required to have a certain stocking level to get payments, and this is a huge step forward. We have argued that commonage farmers should be able to apply in their own right rather than organise collective agreement beforehand, and we think this will be facilitated. We examined a requirement that 50% of active farmers on a commonage would have to be involved in GLAS, but we are now trying to negotiate this as a guideline rather than a requirement. If farmers cannot agree on a planner to put in place a collective GLAS commonage plan, as some farmers believe will be the case, the Department will appoint a planner from a list of approved people.

We are addressing all of the issues, including the matter of 50% agreement on GLAS, the possibility of applying on an individual basis, the seeking of extra time to allow commonage farmers access and the appointment of planners to put collective GLAS commonage plans in place. We are making progress with the Commission on all of these issues and we will get a conclusion that will allow for a practical solution for commonage farmers. We are listening to farmers and working with them to achieve an outcome that suits the Commission's audit system, can be implemented on time by the Department and, most important, is workable for farmers in commonage and non-commonage areas. I am asking for a little time to get the deal done and achieve a reasonable outcome.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The hill committee whose members met the Minister in Dublin a few weeks ago raised 12 points, and I am pleased to see that he is moving in the right direction. Will the Minister continue to discuss the details of the progress he is making with the hill committee, which consists of experts in the field? If the Minister informed Brussels that he had to put together these proposals on foot of an unwillingness among farmers to graze the hills, will he correct this? As the Minister knows, the Department could not identify any under-grazed areas on hills when asked for the information in a parliamentary question and in committee meetings. All of this is based on a false premise, and it is important that this be corrected in Brussels in the same way that I had the Ceann Comhairle correct it in the Dáil. How can Brussels make the right decision on an incorrect premise? While this process continues, will the Minister or his officials meet the hill committee regularly?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Many groups, not just one group, are interested in the implementation of GLAS. We meet farming organisations regularly, particularly the Irish Farmers' Association, IFA, and other groups including the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association, ICSA, and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association, ICMSA. I have met the representatives of the hill committee on a number of occasions and I speak to Deputy Kyne in detail on this issue around twice a week. Deputy Kyne and Deputy Ó Cuív speak to the members of the hill committee regularly. It is not fair to suggest that I am not consulting people, as we had public information sessions all along the west coast. I deliberately did not attend those meetings because I did not want them to turn political - I wanted them to be factually based meetings that gave information.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

They were not factually based.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Departmental officials met farmers at those meetings; some were very happy with the proposals and others want changes. We are trying to respond in a progressive and sensible manner.

To correct the record, I do not think it is a false premise to say there has been a problem with under-grazing on some commonage lands. Some areas have been under-grazed.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Where are those areas?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

There is a difference between acknowledging problems and providing Deputy Ó Cuív with all of the evidence.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Under-grazing is a problem that has been caused by destocking.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Correct.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The answer is to change the approach to destocking. This problem has not arisen because of an unwillingness on the part of farmers to farm the land, but that was the premise of the Minister's proposal. I sought details on the areas the Minister has identified as under-grazed, because if they are the same areas as those that have been destocked, it is clear the problem has been caused by the Department and not farmers.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I never said farmers are not willing to graze. I said that decisions made in the past and the manner in which things have unfolded since those decisions mean that some land is under-grazed. That is a problem because the only way to manage this land is to graze it, and that is why we introduced stocking rates as a requirement for the disadvantaged areas scheme, DAS. We want to get more animals grazing on land that can be managed only by grazing. We introduced an island scheme under the new Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, to ensure that stock is maintained on land and islands where farming is difficult. We have examined other schemes to support farmers, and commonage farmers are a priority in GLAS because we aim to ensure that stock is maintained on land. Much of the land of which I speak can become unfarmable due to a lack of stock and, when this happens, it is difficult to restore it to a farmable condition. The GLAS plans are about working with farmers to get stock on land so that it can be managed and maintained in a good agricultural condition. This will ensure income for farmers and the maintenance of agricultural land in commonage areas.

It is not a question of farmers being unwilling to do this. Farmers were sometimes required to destock in the past, and this subsequently proved to be a mistake.