Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Having been raised on a farm, there are two big elements in agricultural life on which farmers are dependent. One is an adequate income and the other is the weather. The dry, sunny conditions this week have given farmers a guarantee of sorts about what they can do on their farm, but prevailing financial climates are more precarious. Question marks surrounding the areas of natural constraint, ANC, scheme are feeding into that latter issue because of the degree of uncertainty about the new classification system and its eventual completion. The new system of designation is to be based on robust, empirical biophysical data that indicate the suitability of land for disadvantaged status subvention.

Debate in rural Ireland on the ANC qualification criteria is ongoing and nobody wants to lose out on money for their farms. I believe that the main consensus that should emerge from the recent discourse on the ANC scheme is that all payments made under it are equitable and that those who qualify do so based on geographical merit. People who need it most should benefit most for farming flooded land, steep land, land with very poor soil, vegetation or low temperatures. In short, a topography in a subterranean structure where farmers are really struggling to get a return for their investment.

It is essential that the new mapping exercise accurately adjudicates which locations are naturally disadvantaged, ones that impose major limitations on farmers to do their job and that it will continue to do so. People who work on improving disadvantaged areas should be rewarded for doing so, for responding to the environmental challenges that face them in generating an income for their family and for the perseverance involved in such an undertaking.

Some farmers in marginal areas are fighting battles on different fronts, as witnessed by the recent spate of wildfires on the hills around the country. These farmers have literally mountains to climb every day and should be compensated for their productivity on difficult land for the service they provide to the environment and to their local community. In addition, farmers who have made improvements to their disadvantaged land should not be punished for doing so by being excluded from the new scheme. Their efforts ought to be recognised in this regard. The Government clearly does not want regressive decline in areas where farmers have gone the extra mile to improve the acres that they farm.

The new designated areas for consideration in the scheme based on biophysical parameters only have caused some controversy. The Minister will have his work cut out to facilitate farmers who will feel that they have been wrongly excluded. However, the new eligibility typology is a fairer way than the current socio-economic and biophysical model and has the potential to distribute the subsidy in a more balanced way than has been the case hitherto.

At present, it is estimated that some three quarters of the country is designated as being a disadvantaged area, which might be a surprise to many outside the agricultural community, and almost 100,000 farmers are receiving a modest share of the total €205 million allocation for the scheme. The biophysical criteria should be able to make a scientifically compelling case for farmers who need some form of compensation to sustain a viable livelihood in places where there is an existing natural handicap. In addition, farmers who are deemed ineligible should be able to appeal any decision in an open and transparent way when the nationwide location maps are released in draft form. The new mapping exercise of land is a very detailed undertaking on the part of the Department, one that requires rigorous analysis in determining which areas can be classified as needing the support. It would be helpful if the Minister could provide a specific date for completion of his Department's mapping project so that farmers can see if they qualify based on the indices that have been applied.

Crucially at this stage, farmers and their representatives need regular and concise information on how the ANC review is developing and when it will be finalised. Disadvantaged area payments are a crucial source of income for many farmers and they need assurances on this very sensitive issue.

I urge the Minister to send the completed new maps to the European Commission by next year. The Department can still provide farmers with regular updates and opportunities for consultation regarding the publication of the draft maps in the coming months. The dissemination of information is a sure way of ameliorating the sense of uncertainty, apprehension and even dread that some farmers feel regarding the confirmation of the national distribution of the ANC subsidies.

I thank the Minister for hearing what we have to say in the Seanad. I hope he does not mind my briefly raising an issue I have raised with him previously, namely, the plight of Cavan poultry farmer, Alo Mohan, who as a result of his dispute with Carton Brothers finds himself unable to earn a livelihood. I would ask-----