Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 263: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the action he has taken at EU level to ensure that steps taken in the course of the CAP health test address the issues arising from CAP reform from an Irish perspective; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20703/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The main aspects of the deal that are of interest to Ireland are as follows: Milk quotas will be increased by 1% per annum for each of the next five years (2009-2013). In addition an adjustment in the butterfat reference will mean the equivalent of an extra 2% in milk quota for Ireland in 2009. Two reviews of the market situation are planned, by December 2010 and by December 2012.

Due to our additional production potential, Ireland will benefit greatly from these changes. Including the 2% quota increase already in place for 2008, this means that an additional 500 million litres of milk will be produced in Ireland when these changes come into effect. This was an outstanding achievement given the alignment of forces on the Council. I am particularly pleased that our farmers and processors now have policy clarity and can plan their investments with a greater degree of certainty about the future.

As regards market support schemes, in essence, the key market management mechanisms that are most important to Ireland have been left completely unchanged.

I also was successful in obtaining the option of using funds from the National Reserve together with unused monies from the Single Farm Payment funds allocated annually to Ireland, to target at specific vulnerable sectors. There is approximately €7 million available in the National Reserve and I secured agreement to use these funds with effect from 2009. Under the final agreement, we will also have access to additional funds of the order of €25 million annually from unspent funds from 2010.

The funds can be used to address specific economic disadvantages affecting farmers in the dairy, beef and veal, sheep and goat and rice sectors. I persuaded the Commission to expand the scope of these measures to include economically vulnerable sectors irrespective of their geographical location. I recently announced details of my decision to allocate the €7 million becoming available this year to the sheep sector, specifically in the form of an Uplands sheep payment to be paid this year to eligible farmers. In the region of 14,000 hill sheep farmers stand to benefit from this payment. As regards the funding available from 2010 I am currently examining proposals for the use of these funds and having regard to the provisions of the regulations and my objective of putting these monies to the most effective and efficient use for the development of Irish agriculture I will be making further announcements over the next few weeks.

Simplification is another area where I am pleased with the progress achieved and the commitment secured from the Commission and the Council as regards further simplification. The details of the simplification measures resulting from the Health Check have been well documented and I am continuing to press for even further reduction of the administrative burden for farmers and administrations alike. To this end I and a number of my counterparts from other Member States have submitted proposals to the Commission for consideration and in addition the issue is on the agenda for the forthcoming Council of Ministers meeting next week.

As to modulation, the rate has been increased by 5%. I would have preferred if no additional modulation was agreed. However, this was one element of the negotiations on which Commissioner Fischer Boel was particularly determined. I am satisfied that we succeeded in getting the rate of additional modulation considerably reduced from the original proposals. It is worth noting that over 50,000 Irish farmers will be exempt from this increase and I have ensured that all the funds raised can be passed straight back to Irish farmers.

In this context an additional amount of €120 million approximately over a four year period, will be available for distribution under the Rural Development Programme. As in the case of the unspent funds, decisions on spending will be taken on the basis of the regulatory requirements and with the aim of achieving the optimum outcome for the development of Irish agriculture.