Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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11. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the range of measures that were considered for the new CAP farm eco-scheme; if measures such as milk recording and the use of sexed semen or improving herd economic breeding index, EBI, were considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60773/21]

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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To have the most meaningful impact on the environment we need the greatest level of participation from farmers. The various schemes should include actions that will engage the maximum number of farmers from right across the different enterprises in order to get the best impact on the environment. Will the Minister outline the measures he has been considering and the rationale behind including some and not others?

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this today and for engaging with me intensively in recent months on the issue of putting together a CAP that will serve farmers well. I particularly acknowledge his representations on ensuring eco-schemes are available that will serve all farm types. I am glad to inform him that following the consultations I have done with him and other Oireachtas representatives, and considering the various ideas and suggestions put forward, I was able to announce an additional five eco-schemes. I also carried out extensive public engagements across the country and held a public meeting with farmers in every county to assess their ideas and suggestions, receive their feedback on the draft CAP plan, and discuss how we needed to update it to ensure it would serve the sector and farmers well over the coming years. There is now a range of eco-schemes in place which will serve agriculture, farmers and, importantly, the environment. These include: leaving aside a certain percentage for space for nature on farms; rewarding extensive livestock production; limiting chemical nitrogen usage; planting native trees on farms; soil sampling and appropriate liming; enhanced crop diversification; and sowing multispecies swards.

The Deputy mentioned the issue of milk recording within eco-schemes. The European Commission is very clear in its guidance that eco-schemes designed solely for the purpose of collecting data do not seem appropriate. That is the feedback we had from the Commission in respect of milk recording. We did explore the matter, and the Deputy and many others raised it with me. It was not regarded as being appropriate. However, I do believe there is a very strong suite of measures in place having taken on board the Deputy's representations and feedback from farmers across the country.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for those details. I acknowledge that he has taken feedback on board and made modifications and extensions with those five options, making the process more accessible and meaningful for farmers. Can he outline the options that were considered and did not make it? One of those schemes focuses on working in co-operation with neighbours on adjacent farms. There are areas where it will not be possible to get all of the farms around involved in the scheme. Maybe somebody is letting out land or neighbours are not seeing eye to eye. We will end up with some farmers being excluded. Is there some measure to get the maximum benefit in an area so that people would not be excluded in that situation?

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The key objective I have had is to include options which will ensure that every farmer can participate. I want every farmer to participate. It is really important on every farm type that the interaction with the environment, the synchronicity between agricultural production and the environment are fully considered and taken cognisance of in terms of farming practice. The objective behind the CAP is to further improve that environmental ambition while also ensuring that we focus on farm profitability. We want farmers to participate in the eco-schemes. We wanted to make a range of measures available which would provide options for everyone. The suite we have in place now provides real opportunities for everyone, including those who may be leasing land. For example, reduced chemical fertiliser user and enhanced crop diversification in the tillage sector are really important.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I want to focus back in on the point about those who are not just dealing with their own farm but taking in a commonage or land along a body of water body, for example. It is going to give much more meaningful environmental benefit if there is a larger number of people involved and the action is being taken across a wider area. There are situations where it may be on commonage or the landowner may not be interested in engaging. Not only are we losing the environmental benefit in that case but also the other farmers may not be able to go in on that scheme. That is the one that pays better but they will end up having to be on the individual action scheme. If there was some way of ensuring that people who wanted to get on that wider area with a large number of participants would be able to engage and would not be locked out because of somebody not wanting or being unable to participate.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The eco-schemes will run alongside the new agri-environmental scheme, which will pay up to a maximum of €10,000 to farmers participating in co-operative measures. Up to a maximum of €7,000 will be paid to those in the standard environmental scheme. The range of options in the eco-schemes in Pillar 1 will give opportunities to everyone. We encourage everyone to participate, make an environmental contribution and, importantly, draw down 25% of the Pillar 1 payment.

Under Pillar 2, there is also a really strong suite of options. Farmers will be paid to address further our biodiversity challenges, on which they will continue to lead. There are also incentives to reduce emissions. Overall, the CAP is a really strong one that has farm incomes at its core and that fully supports the effort to address our biodiversity and emissions-reduction challenges.