Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)

Last Friday I met with representatives from the Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon IFA. These farmers wanted to draw attention to a number of serious matters that are potentially impacting on their ability to continue farming. The most pressing issue of all, and the reason I need to raise this today, is that farmers are required to sign and submit their basic income support scheme payment forms by the 15 May in order to be entitled to receive their annual payments from the Department of agriculture. Part of this submission is a declaration that farmers are compliant with GAEC 2 practices on their farms. For those who do not know, GAEC stands for good agricultural and environmental condition and sets out minimum environmental standards that must be adhered to on the farm. There are nine GAEC standards in total and GAEC 2 relates the protection of peatlands and wetlands. In a nutshell GAEC 2 will mean that restrictions will apply to land that is deemed to have peaty or mineral soils. Grasslands can be reseeded only once every four years and ploughing of grasslands to a depth greater than 30 cm is prohibited. GAEC 2 also tightens up the prohibition of digging new drains without planning permission on peat-rich soils.

This all very well but farmers are struggling with two basic issues. First is the definition of what constitutes peaty or mineral soils. I understand from the Irish Farmers' Journal, which published a story on the same day I met the farmers just last Friday, that a comprehensible definition of what peaty soil is is becoming clearer. The second issue relates to what parts of their land are classed as being peaty or carbon rich. The Irish Farmers' Journal on 2 May advised that the Department is in the process of writing to farmers subject to the standard. This is in the process but farmers are required to have their basic income support for sustainability, BISS, form submitted by 15 May and today is Wednesday, 7 May. Of course we have all enjoyed a bank holiday, which farmers do not get. The Department, however, is still in the process. If farmers find themselves in the process when the deadline expires, will they get paid? Of course they will not. How can farmers declare themselves compliant with the standard if they do not know which part of their farms the standard applies to? It does not make sense. It is nonsensical. I ask that the Department and the Minister would halt the implementation of GAEC 2 for one more year just to allow the Department to have all its information up to date and to avoid another shambles like ACRES, which I will not get into now.