Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 395: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the reason the townland of Corelish, Pallasgreen, County Limerick is not included in the land classified as disadvantaged area in view of the fact that the neighbouring townlands of Linfield, Deerpark and Mount Sion are classified as disadvantaged areas; the criteria that has to be satisfied for lands to be designated as disadvantaged area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20084/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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In Ireland, three categories of disadvantage were established initially in 1975:-

a) areas which exhibited the conditions as specified in Council Directive 75/272/EEC were designated as Less Severely Handicapped;

b) areas at a) where it could be demonstrated that conditions were particularly severe were further classified as More Severely Handicapped;

c) certain mountainous areas were classified as Mountain Sheep Grazing areas.

During the various reviews since 1975, the Mountain Sheep Grazing areas which existed outside the disadvantaged areas have been absorbed into either the More Severely or Less Severely Handicapped categories. This was completed in the 1989/1991 (Fourth) Review, and the Mountain Sheep Grazing category now exists only in certain locations within the disadvantaged areas.

In the Fourth Review, the Less Severely Handicapped category was divided into two groupings:-

a) areas designated under Article 3.4 of 75/268/EEC (the usual basis on which new areas are selected),and

b) areas designated under Article 3.5 of 75/268/EEC, which allows areas with specific handicaps to be designated as less-favoured without meeting the strict criteria required under Article 3.4. Areas in this sub-category are generally coastal areas or islands which suffer from specific handicaps such as wind/water erosion, excessive climatic conditions, or where preservation is required for environmental or tourism purposes, thereby preventing farmers from fully utilising the land. Land in this category is limited to a maximum of 4% of the total land area of the state.

Areas were designated under Article 3.5 in both the Fourth and Fifth Reviews, and at present amount to 0.4% of the total land area. The most recent (Fifth) review of Less Favoured Areas took place between 1992 and 1996, with new Less Severely Handicapped areas being designated in 1995 and reclassification of additional land as More Severely Handicapped in 1996.

The Commission is currently conducting a review of Disadvantaged Areas across the Community, having been mandated by the Council of Ministers to conduct the review. The object of the exercise is to establish an EU-wide system, which will allow comparisons between regions; the proposal represents a move away from designation based on socio-economic factors, (declining rural population, low productivity and low farm incomes), to a methodology favouring physical characteristics, (soil type, poor climate, slope and altitude of land). While the Commission initially had a November deadline for concluding the review, with a proposal due to be made to Council in December 2008, it became apparent during the consultation process with individual Member States that this timeframe was too ambitious, given the fundamental changes being proposed. These discussions are ongoing; it is envisaged that any changes to the Scheme will not be introduced before 2014.