John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 114: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the reason unspent common agricultural policy funds being distributed to discussion groups is singularly aimed at the dairy sector; if he will distribute available funding to discussion groups in other sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3757/10]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 162: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the reason applications for support from unspent single farm payments funds are confined to the dairy sector. [3868/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 114 and 162 together.

Under the agreement reached in November 2008 on the Health Check of the CAP, I secured approval to use previously inaccessible unspent Single Payment Scheme funds to address, among other things, specific disadvantages affecting certain sectors in economically vulnerable or environmentally sensitive areas. Member States may also provide support to farmers for specific agricultural activities providing agri-environmental benefits.

Resulting from this agreement Ireland gained access to in the region of €25 million in additional funding for each of the next three years 2010, 2011 and 2012 for these targeted measures. In considering how these monies might be best spent my objective was to achieve the most effective and efficient outcome for Irish agriculture. With this in mind, and having consulted widely with all the relevant stakeholders including the farming organisations, and having regard to the provisions of the regulations, I decided to allocate the available funds as follows:

€18m each year for the next three years on a Grassland Scheme to support incomes in the sheep sector,

€6m each year for the next three years on a Dairy Efficiency Programme aimed at encouraging a significant improvement in efficiencies on dairy farms, and

€1m for each of the three years 2010, 2011 and 2012 to support high environmental value farming, with tourism spin-off, in the Burren, Co. Clare, continuing and mainstreaming the pilot scheme operated by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

In addition to this agreement I successfully negotiated the use of the national reserve element of these funds from 2009. I announced that approximately €7 million would be paid to hill sheep farmers as a once-off measure in the form of an Uplands Sheep Payment, benefiting approximately 12,500 hill sheep farmers. To date €5 million of this amount has been paid, and I expect the remaining €2 million to be paid shortly.

It should be clear, therefore, that unspent Single Payment Scheme funds are not confined to the dairy sector. However, in the dairy sector, my focus is also on achieving the maximum possible benefit from the expenditure of the funds. Discussion groups are already a well-established feature on the dairying landscape and have demonstrated their value in supporting the effective management of dairy enterprises. I want to encourage greater participation in such arrangements so that many more dairy farmers can benefit from the application of best practice in the running of their farms, and bring about the kind of cost efficiencies that will help them to deal with the significant challenges that exposure to global market realities brings. I believe the Dairy Efficiency Programme has the potential to facilitate great strides in this regard, and I would encourage all dairy farmers to consider getting involved.