Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 521: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce grant aid for sheep fencing and handling facilities to allow those farmers who were locked out of the farm improvement scheme to apply for much needed investment. [31880/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Farm Improvement Scheme was introduced by my Department in July 2007 with funding of €79 million as agreed under the Partnership agreement, Towards 2016, and was suspended on 31 October 2007 as applications had reached this level of funding. I have no plans at present to reopen the Scheme to new applications.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 522: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will change the national reserve for hill farmers to allow allocation payment to be made on the basis of 80% of the national DED average, increase the maximum payment to €2,000 and increase the ceiling to qualify for the national reserve to €10,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31881/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Hill Farmers scheme was a special category under the 2005 National Reserve. This catered for farmers with commonage land who were prevented from expanding their sheep production during the 2000-2002 reference period pending publication of the Commonage Framework Plans in 2003. One of the qualifying criteria was that the existing Single Payment must have been less than €6,000. Some 500 hill-sheep farmers benefit from this measure to the tune of €400,000 annually or €3.2 million over the period until 2012.

In addition, a special category was included under the 2007 National Reserve for sheep farmers whose existing Single Payment is less than €10,000 and where individual entitlements are less than the District Electoral Division (DED) average. Allocations are capped at the DED average value of entitlements or a total Single Payment of €10,000 whichever is the lesser and allocations to successful applicants did not exceed €1,000. It is estimated that some 7,500 sheep farmers will receive some €6 million annually under this measure or €36 million over the period until 2012.

Under both of these measures the Member State was obliged to apply objective criteria in determining the value of entitlements to be allocated to successful applicants. In Ireland's case it was agreed that the Regional Average value of entitlements would be used for the granting of entitlements to successful applicants. The Regional Average is the average value determined at the District Electoral Division (DED) associated with the applicant's herd number. In addition it was decided that allocations would not exceed €1,000. The National Reserve is a scarce resource created by reducing the entitlements of existing farmers and will only be replenished by the relinquishing of any entitlements that remain unused. My Department must therefore be prudent is determining how the funds in the reserve are administered.