Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Of course I will share but I had a few things worked out to say. I welcome the Minister of State. This is a very important area. I am a former REPS planner and I know the important role farmers have played in environmental programmes over the years. The Minister of State will be developing a new REPS scheme. As the original REPS programme transitioned into the agri-environment options scheme and GLAS, it switched from a whole farm approach to more targeted measures. We saw that farmers recognise the value of stone walls and hedgerows and they became landscape features to be protected under basic farm payments. The riparian zones were a supplementary measure under the original REPS. There is great potential in nutrient interception, shading rivers and reducing temperatures in regard to the value of habitats as they are and as shelters.

The potential in this area is huge. I am particularly concerned that in the past many farmers viewed scrub as waste ground, as did the State which provided grants to reclaim it. That has changed and, as Senator Lombard said, newer generations understand the importance of habitats and ecosystems. The EU possibly does not as people still get money for forage areas. In order to avail of maximum payments farmers have to keep controlling those areas that are becoming scrubby. They are penalised with regard to areas that are not grassland or forage areas. I ask the Minister of State to see whether this can be changed in the next CAP.