Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 144: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the legal owner of lands which are leased until June 2009 is entitled to make a single payment of area aid application and REPS 4 application in respect of these lands prior to 15 May 2009; if they are entitled to make an application for entitlements from the national reserve in respect of same lands; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18409/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Under the 2009 Single Payment Scheme and other area-based schemes, all of the land declared by an applicant to support a claim (owned, rented and leased) must be available to the applicant for a period including 31 May 2009. The person declaring the land for the single payment will be held responsible for any non-compliance with statutory management requirements under cross-compliance, or any failure to maintain the lands declared in good agricultural and environmental condition, whether this non-compliance was attributable to the applicant or attributable to the person to whom, or from whom, the land declared was transferred in the period between 1 January and 31 December 2009. REPS applicants must detail all lands owned but leased out to others at the time of submission of an application to join the scheme. As the closing date for receipt of applications for 2009 REPS is 15 May, any land leased out to a third party on that date cannot be declared by the owner for REPS payment.

There are two categories under the 2009 national reserve. Category A caters for farmers who inherit, lease or otherwise receive a holding free of charge or for a nominal consideration (not greater than €100 per hectare), where that holding was leased to a third party during the reference period, 2000-02. The farmer from whom the holding is obtained must have retired or died before 16 May 2005. Category B caters for farmers who entered farming for the first time after 15 May 2007. Applicants under this category are required to meet other criteria relating to on-farm and off-farm income and certain farming qualifications held. Applicants under the 2009 national reserve are required to declare the lands being applied for on their 2009 single payment scheme application forms.