Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I recognise and value the work done by agricultural contractors in rural Ireland, many of whom are of the land, some of whom have land and qualify for TAMS payments, although a significant cohort do not. I do not undervalue or under-appreciate the contribution of either but I accept that, in some respects, some contractors, by virtue of being both contractors and landowners, have an advantage in terms of their eligibility for grant aid. The dilemma I face is that, under EU regulations, it is not open to me to provide funding to non-farmers under this scheme.

The scheme is critical, as are all of the schemes under TAMS II, but this is particularly so in the context of climate, and we are out in public consultation in the context of the roadmap we envisage for meeting our ambitious targets in the agricultural area. We are also at present engaged in deliberations about what the next Common Agricultural Policy could be, so it may be an opportune time to look at those regulations in that context. I accept personally that, in terms of the scarce resources available to farmers, it is not necessary for every farmer to have low-emissions slurry spreading equipment but it is obligatory, in the context of our ambition, that all farmyard manures would be spread in the most environmentally friendly way possible. Given the capital cost, much of that can be done, and most effectively in financial terms, through contractors.

How we might marry the two issues - the reform of CAP and our climate ambition - is somewhere I see opportunity in terms of using the toolbox that the new CAP can give us to drive that agenda in the most environmentally and financially efficient way. That could include opening the door, if it were possible in the context of the new CAP, although I am not committing to that as it is a deliberative process which we are in consultation about.

I accept this is expensive equipment. It is beyond the reach of many farmers and, in many cases, given the individual farmer's scale, and notwithstanding the period when it is optimum to use the low emissions slurry spreading equipment, it is questionable whether every farmer should be obliged to own it, or whether, through a co-operative purchasing system or through extended the availability of assistance to contractors, there is an optimum solution. It is something we can set our minds to considering in the context of climate and the reform of CAP. However, under the current regulations, as drafted, it is not open to me to consider them under TAMS as currently constructed.