Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for taking this very important Topical Issue on disadvantaged areas, which are now called areas of natural constraints. Some 52% of my own county of Laois is designated as disadvantaged. Huge tracts of Offaly are also designated as disadvantaged areas. Some €3.2 million is going to 1,700 farmers in County Laois under this scheme. It is a priority that the existing areas in the east and west of the county are kept in the scheme. I note the change in the criteria from socio-economic and biophysical to biophysical and science alone.

The important point for us in the Dáil is that if we and the EU want to continue food production on marginal land or areas of natural constraints, we will have to continue with this modest subsidy, which works out at about €2,000 per farmer. At present, it is based on the district electoral divisions, DEDs, which are very big. They can take in a huge part of a county. That may be fine for many of the areas that are dead certs to be in the scheme, such as the slopes of Slieve Bloom, all of Slieve Margy and that area in the east of the county as well. There are other townlands that on the face of it look prosperous enough, but there are groups of farmers within those localities and areas that are severely disadvantaged. I am thinking in particular of farmers whose land goes up to the Barrow. North Laois would be considered prosperous. However, there are farmers there who have suffered from their lands flooding year after year. Parts of several farms run into flood-afflicted areas.

There is an area around the Goul and Erkina basin down at Woodenbridge on the far side of Ballycolla that experiences flooding on a regular basis. This area is surrounded by land that is as good as anything in the Golden Vale. The Minister is familiar with the Golden Vale as a County Cork man. There is land in south Laois as good as that, but there are pockets within that, such as the area around Woodenbridge on the far side of Ballycolla, where farmers experience flooding year after year. We know that when land floods, it does not go back to the way it was straight away this year or the next. It is damaged for a number of years. The scheme is an essential support. I ask in the next round of the scheme, as part of the survey that has to happen according to the European Court of Auditors, that these areas are looked at for inclusion.

A number of farmers in the existing areas of natural constraints have spent money and used it well to improve their holdings and to make them more viable. A lot of the work has involved drainage works and the likes. We do not want to penalise farmers by having them taken out of the scheme just because they have carried out drainage works. The Minister and I both know that drainage works are not jobs for eternity. Drainage often has to be replaced after a decade or two. It requires maintenance, as does other farm infrastructure. It is important that we do not penalise those farmers that are active and have improved their holdings. The priority for Laois is to keep that 52% of land in the scheme and to pick up some of those pockets throughout the county that were not brought into it before because of the DED method of assessment. They are small pockets surrounded by very prosperous farmers and very high quality land. Unfortunately, there are small pockets there as well as adjacent to the bogs in Laois that were left out the last time.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The areas of natural constraints, ANC, scheme was introduced under the 2014-2020 rural development programme as a replacement for the previous disadvantaged areas and less favoured areas schemes that had been in place since 1975. Payments under the ANC scheme are an important support for farmers across the country in addressing cash flow issues and contributing to the continued growth and development of the agrifood sector.

The scheme was originally introduced in 1975 in recognition of the fact that farmers in particular areas were faced with challenges relating to lower productivity and higher production costs than farmers in other areas where levels of disadvantage were not as pronounced. The significant level of financial support delivered through the scheme in the intervening years was provided in recognition of the fact that such issues posed a significant threat to the future viability of these farming communities. The specific objectives of the scheme are thus structured around themes such as ensuring continued agricultural land use, thereby contributing to the maintenance of a viable rural society; maintaining the countryside; and maintaining and promoting sustainable farming systems which take environmental protection into account. I am very aware of the importance of the scheme to the more than 95,000 farmers who receive the payment annually. With this in mind, I have prioritised efficient payment under the ANC scheme in my Department in recent years. In 2016, payments under the scheme began in mid-September and to date over €201 million has been paid to over 94,000 farmers. With the payment of €1.18 billion to some 124,000 farmers under the 2016 basic payment scheme, this is a very important financial support for the agrifood sector and farm families in rural Ireland.

Under the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, finalised in 2013, the new rural development regulations introduced a change in how eligible areas under the ANC scheme were to be defined. The designation of eligible areas under the scheme to date has been based on a range of socio-economic factors. The factors included particular stocking levels, family farm income levels, population density and the percentage of the total working population engaged in agriculture. The change introduced in the new rural development regulations required from 2018 eligible areas to instead be designated using a set list of biophysical criteria. In cases where a member state does not introduce this system for payment, the regulations set out that the old scheme remains in place but payments must be phased out on a digressive basis. The purpose of the change is linked with a concern at European Union level that areas were not being designated as disadvantaged in a consistent manner across the various member states. The biophysical criteria set out in the legislation to underpin the new system of designation are low temperature, dryness, excess soil moisture, limited soil drainage, unfavourable texture and stoniness, shallow rooting depth, poor chemical properties and steep slope.

My Department has commenced work on the project and relevant technical experts are working on sourcing and analysing the data for the new criteria. Departmental officials have also been in contact with the joint research centre and the Directorate General for Agriculture, DG Agri, in the European Commission about technical issues arising. The ongoing analysis will identify areas deemed to be facing natural constraints which will, in parallel, be subject to a refinement process. A number of the criteria I have listed will not have an impact on the new designation in Ireland, while others will have a small impact. In effect, the Irish process will be most impacted on by soil drainage and soil moisture excess. As outlined previously, in the original rural development regulations, the new ANC designation was scheduled to be in place for the 2018 scheme year. This is the timeline towards which my Department has been working. However, as part of the ongoing discussion on amendments to regulations at EU level, Austria raised the possibility of extending the deadline on an optional basis. Ireland supported this proposal, with Latvia, Slovenia, Poland, Luxembourg, France, Germany and Slovakia. The proposal is passing through the relevant approval process at EU level, with a number of other regulatory changes in what is referred to as the omnibus proposal. The technical work is ongoing; thus it is not possible lo set out the final set of areas to be eligible for payment. However, given the importance of the ANC scheme in the Irish context, officials in my Department are continuing to engage with our colleagues at EU level in order to ensure the best possible outcome of the review is secured. I am also aware that many farmers will have a direct interest in the outcome of this process. Accordingly, I expect consultation to take place with key stakeholders as the process develops further.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister is taking an active interest in this issue, but it is very important that we get it right. There are media reports that he supports a two-year postponement of the completion of the assessment for the new areas under the natural constraint scheme. Will he clarify its status? Reports at the weekend stated he supported the proposal, with Austria. He also mentioned some other countries.

There is a fear the maps will be done and dusted and sent to Brussels without farmers or the county IFA committees having an input. I ask for local consultation in each area. The IFA is holding meetings around the country. I ask the Department to do something similar in each county and have local consultations with farmers in order that they can make submissions to officials from the Department. I also ask for an appeals system to be established.

In 2009, some €250 million was available, but this figure was cut after the financial crash and is now €205 million. The programme for Government commits to an extra €25 million this year for the scheme. Will the Minister confirm that it is being delivered on? I checked again today and it is included in the programme for Government. It is also important. We need to get the funding figure back up. The sum of €25 million would bring it half way back, to €230 million. It is important that funding for the overall scheme in the State be brought back to €250 million.

It is essential that all areas in County Laois in the scheme are kept in it. It is essential that the pockets about which I talked that are adjacent to the Barrow, Goul and Erkina rivers and areas adjacent to boglands that are severely disadvantaged in the middle of the county be included. There are three very large bogs in the middle of the county and much of the land adjoining them is very poor. The DED assessment does not do this. Will the Minister confirm that smaller pockets will be looked at this time?

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I have listened carefully to and noted the points the Deputy has made about County Laois. They are similar to points raised by other representatives in the Deputy's constituency, including my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan.

The Deputy asked about an extension of the time for implementation. Amendments to regulations in this area are being considered by the European Commission. In that context, an extension of the timeline beyond 2018 was sought by Austria. It was supported by us. Refinements of the regulations have yet to be finalised, but we remain hopeful there will be an extension of the timeline. Whether it will be a one or two-year extension is not clear at this stage. I envisage there will be an appeals system which will involve consultation with and the provision of information for stakeholders, including farm organisations.

On the issue of DEDs or townlands, it is my understanding the regulation, as drafted, provides for the consideration of areas by district electoral division or subsets of the district electoral division, of which townlands are one. There is a question around the scaling of information at micro level within the DED at townland level. It is something that has not yet been finalised. I understand the point the Deputy makes that a DED can cover a broad expanse and that there may be pockets within it in which there are variations of the biophysical criteria. There is a commitment to provide an additional €25 million for next year and it is a commitment the Government intends to honour.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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In budget 2018.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Yes. This is 2017.