Dáil debates

Thursday, 2 March 2017

Topical Issue Debate

Agriculture Scheme Payments

5:20 pm

Photo of Martin KennyMartin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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As I am sure the House and the Minister are aware, we have a serious problem in the agricultural sector with regard to the significant number of farmers who are waiting to get GLAS payments. The first tranche or 85% of payments were due to be paid before the end of 2016 and most farmers expected that would happen. The payments only started to flow in the final days of December 2016. Since then a number of farmers have received their payments but until recently in excess of 10,000 farmers had not received their payments. I understand the number has reduced to approximately 6,500 farmers who have not received the 85% payment.

All kinds of reasons and excuses have been put forward by the Department when contacted which range from technical hitches and difficulties with IT systems but in many cases no excuse at all has been given. The trend I and other Deputies have observed is that when a representation is made on behalf of an individual and the herd number and circumstances are given, in a couple of days or weeks someone from the Department gets in touch to say the issue has been resolved but the farmer did not have to do anything, which tells us that there was nothing on the farmer's side causing the problem. Whatever the problem is, it lies in the Department. The blame has been placed on the Minister and the Department and it would be useful if he would acknowledge that an issue arises with the IT system in the Department that is causing the problem. We are being told that if an issue arises on the system indicating that a farmer will not be paid then the physical application must be accessed and someone must examine it line by line to find out what is wrong. In the context of thousands of applications that seems an absurd system. On behalf of the many farmers who have still not been paid I demand that the Minister pay the money to all of the farmers and if there are problems they can be sorted out later. If some deduction or penalty is required to be made that can be taken from the remaining 15% of the payment. There is no reason to withhold the payment from farmers, many of whom are in dire straits. I have come across farmers who have had to sell sheep to make ends meet, sheep they need to keep on the land to meet the requirements of the GLAS payment. It is totally counterproductive for the Department and the Minister to sit on their hands and not to sort out the issue. It is time the farmers were paid their money. They are in dire straits and many of them are in debt. Bank managers are phoning them to find out where they can get their next payment and they do not understand that there is a technical hitch somewhere in the Department preventing farmers from getting their money. I know a response will have been prepared for the Minister of State by somebody in the Department outlining an excuse, but it is past time for excuses. It is time to make sure that farmers are paid all their money within the coming days, not weeks or months.

Photo of Andrew DoyleAndrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Before I read the reply, first, nobody is sitting on their hands and, second, I understand the scheme better than anyone because I was involved when it was being designed.

One thing I will say is that if a scheme is expanded to the level that GLAS has been expanded in order to encompass so many people and if one considers the options and tries to ensure that everybody is compliant, it will inevitably lead to some complications. I reassure the Deputy that nobody is sitting on their hands

I welcome the opportunity to outline the current position regarding the 2016 payments under GLAS and the previous model, the agri-environment options scheme, AEOS. These agri-environment schemes deliver important environmental benefits by supporting farmers to undertake actions that will enhance Ireland's agriculture sustainability credentials into the future. A maximum annual payment of €5,000 is available GLAS, with provision for payment of up to €7,000 - known as GLAS+ - where, in a limited number of cases, farmers are required to give exceptional environmental commitments. Applications under the first two tranches of GLAS resulted in almost 38,000 farmers being approved for the scheme in its first year of implementation. This represented an unprecedented level of interest in the first year of any agri-environment scheme. Just under 14,000 applications were received under GLAS 3, which closed in mid-December last. Approvals have now issued in respect of over 90% of these applications, with the remainder currently being examined by the Department with a view to issuing further approvals where appropriate. This will bring overall participation in GLAS to well over the targeted participation level of 50,000 farmers.

In respect of 2016, just over 8,600 participants in AEOS were due payments. AEOS lI participants completed their five-year contracts on 31 December 2016. Under the EU regulations governing this scheme and all other area-based payment schemes, a full check, including cross-checks with the land parcel identification system, must take place before final payment can issue. As all AEOS Il participants will be receiving their final payments under the scheme, rechecks on payments made for all scheme years must be completed before final payment can be processed. This is the same procedure as applied to AEOS I participants finishing in that scheme.

To date, AEOS payments for 2016 amounting to over €21 million have issued. The remaining 2,000 cases are currently being checked and payments will continue to issue on an ongoing weekly basis as these cases are cleared. The 2016 payments represent the first full year of payment under GLAS. At the end of December 2016, there were approximately 37,500 active participants in GLAS, of whom 27,400 received payments valued at over €97 million. This represented 85% of their 2016 payments. Payment can only issue where all the required validation checks have been successfully passed. As issues with outstanding GLAS cases are resolved, they are being paid in weekly payment runs. Further payments are issuing on a weekly basis, with payments valued at over €110 million now issued and over 84% of participants now paid. There are approximately 5,900 cases awaiting payment. Further payments are issuing on a weekly basis.

GLAS has a range of over 30 actions available for selection by participants and each of them must be verified under EU regulations. As a result, there are different reasons why payment may not have issued. Given their complexity, many of these issues require review on a case-by-case basis. In cases where it has been identified that additional information is required from the farmer, this information is being requested. The Minister and the Department are well aware of the need to process all 2016 payments without delay and are ensuring that all resources required on both the IT and administrative side are directed towards resolving the outstanding queries on these cases.

5:30 pm

Photo of Martin KennyMartin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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All of us are conscious that payment can only be issued where all required validation checks have been successfully passed. To my mind, that is 100% of the payment. The issue here is that these farmers are waiting for the first tranche, namely, that 85%. Neither the farmers nor I can understand why they cannot receive that money. If there is an issue with checks, that can then be dealt with in on the remaining 15%. There is no need to hold up these farmers' money in these circumstances. While I understand that the Department has a job to do and that we are under EU scrutiny and have all these hurdles to jump, ultimately, it is the farmers' money. They entered into a contract with the Government to get it. Under the latter, a period was set for them to receive their money and the Government is in breach of that provision.

I appeal to the Minister of State to not just tell us that the Department must carry out more checks and validation, that each one must be checked and that farmers must come back with more information. In the vast majority of cases, the farmer has nothing further to do. All that seems to happen is that a check is run through the Department and that when the latter has time to do so, it pays the money. Pay the money now and do the checks later. In the odd case where there may be an issue, it can be taken out of the 15%. The reality is that the Department holds all the cards when it comes to this situation because it has all the other schemes it holds on to as well and there can be cross-compliance with all of them. There is no reason the GLAS money cannot be paid immediately, particularly as farmers need it. The Minister of State is a farmer and he is aware of the circumstances in which many in the farming community find themselves. They are in debt. If they are in debt, pressure is being put on them and the Department is holding up their money, the Government needs to act now to pay that money to the farmers.

Photo of Andrew DoyleAndrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Would that it were the case that we could just pay the money. Under EU regulations, we cannot do so. In the first instance, approximately 54% of the payment is EU rural development fund money. There are six schemes under the rural development programme - GLAS A and C, the beef data and genomics programme, the sheep welfare scheme, the targeted agricultural modernisation schemes and the knowledge transfer programme with locally-led environment schemes to come - across 12 regional offices. In respect of tier 1, 2 and 3 of GLAS and the various options, they were designed to broaden the appeal of it and get as many people as possible involved. However, the minute one does that and de-simplifies the position, one creates a problem.

Ireland is second only to Finland in terms of the speed with which it makes payments. I cannot say so definitively but I would be surprised if Finland has as many schemes and as many complicated schemes as Ireland. There is no doubt that we are on target to draw down all of our rural development programme money. I have seen a couple of cases down through the years where people were paid and that money was then recalled. It is not an issue with which one needs to deal on too regular a basis. In respect of the final check relating to digitisation, we saw how the EU looked for €180 million back. That is why we had the hold up on digitisation and identification in respect of over 90,000 parcels last year. We got that figure down to €60 million, which the Department absorbed rather than pass it on to individual farmers.

It is not that simple a matter to deal with. I wish it was because I know plenty of people who are waiting for their money. However, they can be reassured that everything is being done. I am constantly in touch with people who are upstairs. An entire office is dedicated to this issue and is going through it. If the Deputy was over there and saw the officials working as assiduously, efficiently and diligently as they can, he would see it in a different light.