Written answers

Tuesday, 27 June 2006

Department of Agriculture and Food

Direct Payment Schemes

11:00 pm

Photo of Dan BoyleDan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 111: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the criteria for receipt of national reserve entitlements from an equity point of view, in view of the fact that a 22 year old agricultural college graduate, who not owning land can just about afford to rent 30 acres is refused entitlements, whereas a retired wealthy farmer can receive entitlements up to €50,000; and if she will reform the criteria to ensure young people are not prevented from making a career in farming as is happening at present. [24627/06]

Photo of Mary CoughlanMary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The position is that the Single Payment Scheme is applicable to farmers who farmed during the three-year reference period 2000-2002, who drew down livestock or Arable Aid premia in at least one of those years and who continued to farm in 2005. Special provisions were made for farmers (including young farmers) who entered farming for the first time in either 2001 or 2002. Their Single Payment was determined based on the average of the years 2001 and 2002 or on the basis of premia paid in 2002 as appropriate.

The EU regulations also provided for the setting up of a National Reserve. In Ireland, the Reserve was created by reducing each farmer's individual Single Payment by an amount of some 1.82%. The purpose of the National Reserve is to try to minimise the impact on farmers who, for a variety of reasons, may find themselves disadvantaged in the transition to the new decoupled support regime as a result of changes in their businesses during or since the reference period. In particular the intention is to provide enhanced or new entitlements for certain farmers who made investments in production capacity or purchased or leased land on a long-term basis or who converted from dairying to a sector for which a direct payment would have been payable during the reference period. Such farmers, at the time when they took these decisions, had a legitimate expectation that the coupled regime of direct payments would continue into the future.

In addition each Member State may decide to include certain non-mandatory categories in the reserve. In Ireland's case, following consultations with the Single Payment Advisory Committee comprising representatives of the farming organisations, Teagasc and officials from my Department, new entrants to farming after 31 December 2002 (category D) were included as a non-mandatory category in the 2005 National Reserve. However, no provision was made in the 2005 National Reserve for new entrants who were farming rented or leased land. Such farmers had the option of leasing in the entitlements established for the farmer from whom the land was leased/rented.

Where the land in question was being leased for a nominal amount from a farmer who retired or died before 16 May 2005 and the land was leased to a third party during the reference period, then an applicant may qualify under category A of the National Reserve. Similarly, where the lease commenced before 19 October 2003 the applicant may qualify under category B(1). Where the land being farmed has been inherited then any entitlements established for the farmer from whom the land was inherited can be transferred to the new entrant.

Ireland has the option of including a category for new entrants to farming in the 2006 National Reserve. I have not yet made decisions with regard to the categories to be included in the 2006 National Reserve and the question of whether new entrants to farming using leased land should be included will be considered in that context following consultation with the Single Payment Advisory Committee. The major factor to be considered in this regard is the availability of funds for the National Reserve in 2006 and subsequent years. It should be understood that the National Reserve is a scarce resource, created by reducing the entitlements of existing farmers, and will only be replenished by a claw-back on sales of entitlements and the relinquishing of any entitlements that remain unused.

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