Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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40. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress made to date in agreeing transitional arrangements for the CAP for 2021 and 2021 or until a new CAP is agreed and implemented for the period 2021 to 2027; the progress made on the negotiations on the CAP for these years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41610/20]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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We are coming to the end of the year and 2021 beckons. There is a small typo in the question and I think I made the mistake when I submitted it. It should refer to the years 2021 and 2022. I believe it will be 2023 before the new CAP, comes into force, and perhaps the Minister will confirm this. What are the transitional arrangements going to be for 2021 and 2022? What progress has been made in the greater scheme of things for the CAP from 2021 to 2027, in other words, the full CAP that will come into force sometime in the coming years? Obviously, it will not be there on 1 January next year.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Ó Cuív for the question and I am pleased to update him and the House on the state of play on the transitional arrangements.

Discussions on the legislative proposals are now nearing completion after an extended and intensive period of engagement at EU level. The legislation is expected to be approved shortly, by mid-December, and published shortly afterwards, subject to agreement on the EU budget. In this regard, the proposals incorporate EU recovery instrument funding, of which €190 million is earmarked for Ireland. This will be programmed through the rural development programme in the two-year transitional period in 2021 and 2022.

In the meantime, my Department has made preparations for the transitional period within the parameters of the current rules, and in anticipation of the finalised EU transitional rules being forthcoming. In October, I announced my intention to extend schemes under the rural development programme into 2021, and I provided the necessary funding of €628 million in the budget.

The extension of existing rural development programme schemes required approval from the EU. I am pleased to advise the House that approval was received last week for the extension of contracts under GLAS, the beef data genomics programme, the Burren programme and the organic farming scheme. My Department will be in contact shortly with farmers whose contracts are due to end this year, to advise them how to opt in if they wish to extend their contracts. Support for other annual schemes is expected to continue, including the sheep welfare scheme and the areas of natural constraints scheme. I have provided for €80 million for TAMS in 2021 to meet existing commitments, and decisions on other tranches will be made when there is more certainty around the transitional rules. I will continue to consult with stakeholders on the options for the transitional period over the coming weeks as we have more certainty around the rules and funding.

The European CAP national strategic plan is being finalised. Over the course of the coming months, it is something that will have to be considerably fleshed out in terms of our national plan that will decide how we structure the seven-year programme at national level, obviously being compliant with the overall European programme.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Minister confirm that I am right in understanding that the basic payment scheme will continue in 2021 and 2022 more or less as it is until the new CAP comes in, the areas of natural constraint scheme will continue as is for those two years also, GLAS will continue for another year and other schemes, such as the sheep welfare scheme and the beef data genomics scheme will see out their full course?

Will the Minister confirm whether we have more detail on the proposed new environmental scheme for the transitional period he mentioned, which will be done on a pilot basis? How widespread will it be? How available will it be to people who have left the agri-environment options scheme and did not get into GLAS or who have never been on a scheme, such as young farmers? Will the Minister flesh out what he now knows about the alternative environmental scheme to GLAS for those who are not in it at present? It is a matter of concern because people depend on these environmental payments to put bread on the table. Will he confirm the current schemes and I will come back in on the longer period schemes.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Ó Cuív. The basic payment scheme is 100% funded by the Commission and it will continue as a basic payment directly from it. The multi-annual financial framework will run for seven years alongside the seven-year CAP. There will be a two-year transition period, although I am not sure whether the second year has been formally signed off at European level. The full expectation is that it will be a two-year transition period. While the full CAP will not get going until January 2023, in every likelihood the new basic payment scheme and the seven-year multi-annual financial framework will have already started.

The domestic budget I introduced in October was very important with regard to the rural development schemes, which will continue next year. Next year's budget will be important to ensure they are in place for the year 2022. The rollover will happen next year so people will be able to continue with it.

I will come back to the Deputy in respect of the new scheme in my further response.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I take it that, even though the money from the basic payment scheme is coming out of the new programme, the scheme rules are likely to remain more or less as they are in 2021. My understanding is that after 2021, whatever replaces the basic payment scheme and greening could be different, even radically different, from what we have. The scheme relating to areas of natural constraint could also be different, as could all the rural development schemes. Have we any idea, from preliminary papers that are probably floating around the system, of the post-2022 shape of the schemes and the changes, particularly their impact on farmers and farmers’ incomes, because that is obviously going to become a concern over the next two years. Is it going to be radically different and are there going to be a lot of conditions that might make it difficult for some farmers to access these schemes and keep their payments going? The Minister might give some indication of how these schemes are beginning to take shape in Europe. No doubt there are discussion papers floating around the system, as there always are, and my experience was that 90% of what they produce at the beginning is implemented at the end. The Minister might give us some insight into that.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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To go back to the point I did not have time to finish earlier, the €79 million in additional funding for next year is in regard to additional environmental measures. It will be spent in a variety of ways. A fair proportion of that will be open to all farmers - those currently in GLAS and those not - and there is also going to be a pilot environmental scheme for those who are not currently in GLAS, for whom this is being rolled over. That is something I will be consulting on shortly with farming organisations, perhaps into the start of the year, and we will then have it up and running early in the year.

On the framework and how the next CAP will look, there is going to be a change in regard to pillar 1 because we are going to have the eco scheme as part of that. That is going to have to set a baseline of conditionality that will then be built upon in regard to pillar 2. I will be consulting very widely with farming organisations and farmers, and within the political system as well, in regard to how we structure that and what schemes we put in place. Obviously, they will have to meet the general requirements at EU level but we will have a lot of discretion at national level. I will consult widely on that to ensure it is practical and will deliver as well as possible for farmers.