Written answers

Thursday, 16 February 2006

Department of Agriculture and Food

Single Payment Scheme

5:00 pm

Photo of Billy TimminsBilly Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 24: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food when entitlements will issue under the national reserve; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5631/06]

Photo of Michael NoonanMichael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 33: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food her plans for the allocation of entitlements under the national reserve; when she intends to issue the entitlements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5616/06]

Photo of Paul Connaughton  SnrPaul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 49: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food her views on the rules covering the allocation of the national reserve with the farming organisations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5618/06]

Photo of Mary CoughlanMary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 24, 33 and 49 together.

The position is that there are four main categories under which farmers have applied for entitlements from the 2005 national reserve. Category A applies to farmers who inherited or otherwise obtained a holding free of charge or for a nominal sum from a farmer who retired or died before 16 May 2005 where the holding was leased out to a third party during the reference period. Category B(i), B(ii), B(iii) and B(iv) apply to farmers who made an investment between 1 January 2000 and 19 October 2003, which resulted in an increase in production capacity. Investments can include purchase or long-term lease of land, purchase of suckler and/or ewe quota or other investments.

Category C applies to farmers who sold their milk quota into a restructuring scheme between 1 January 2000 and 19 October 2003 and who converted to a farming sector for which a direct payment under the livestock and/or arable aid schemes would have been payable in respect of the years 2000 to 2002. Category D applies to new entrants to farming since 31 December 2002 and farmers who commenced farming in 2002 but who received no direct payments in that year. The applicant's total income may not exceed €40,000 and any off-farm income may not exceed €20,000. Farming qualifications are also required for this category and priority may be given to farmers under 35 years of age.

In addition, the cost of funding successful applicants under the following measures will have to be met from the pool of money in the national reserve: active dairy farmers who, because of force majeure, were unable to supply milk during the 2004/05 milk quota year and were therefore allowed to temporarily lease out all or part of their quota — the cost of awarding the equivalent of the decoupled dairy premium to these farmers must be met from the national reserve; sheep farmers with commonage land who, while farming very extensively, were prevented from expanding production during the period 1999-2002 pending the publication of commonage framework plans.

There are mandatory and non-mandatory categories in the reserve. In Ireland's case the mandatory categories are categories A, B(i) B(ii) B(iii) B(iv) and C. The non-mandatory categories are category D, new entrants, and certain hill sheep farmers who were prevented from increasing production during the reference period pending the publication of commonage framework plans. Separate application arrangements were in place for this latter group.

In allocating entitlements to successful applicants in the mandatory categories, the member state must apply objective criteria and ensure equal treatment between farmers. In the case of categories A and B(i), qualifying farmers will have declared hectares of land in 2005 that were free of entitlements and the intention to make an allocation in respect of those hectares based on objective criteria. It is envisaged that qualifying applicants under categories B(ii) B(iii) B(iv) and C will have their existing entitlements topped-up by a sum of money again determined on the basis of objective criteria.

In allocating entitlements to successful applicants in the non-mandatory categories, the member state must ensure that the allocation does not have the effect of increasing the value of any existing entitlements above the regional average value of entitlements. Similarly, the value of any new entitlements allocated to non-mandatory categories must not exceed the regional average. The member state is allowed to determine what will constitute the regional average.

I established a single payment advisory committee comprising representatives of the farming organisations, Teagasc and officials from my Department to consider various aspects of the national reserve arrangements. These included the objective criteria that should be used in making allocations from the reserve to the mandatory categories and also the most appropriate way to determine what will constitute the regional average value of entitlements in the case of the non-mandatory categories. I will make a formal announcement in this regard shortly. It is intended that allocations will be made to successful applicants during March.

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