Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 532: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if a person who is acquiring sheep for the first time in 2010 will be eligible for payment on those sheep under the new sheep grant scheme recently announced; the position regarding their entitlement to payment in 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27576/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The new Grassland Sheep Scheme, which has a total budget of €54 million, will operate for three years: 2010, 2011 and 2012. This funding, which comes from the unused Single Payment funds, will provide a very important and timely boost to support incomes in the sheep sector over the next three years.

The Scheme has been kept administratively simple, which will facilitate the Department in making payments very shortly after the commencement date of 1 December 2010 (the commencement date for making payments under this Scheme in accordance with the provisions of the relevant EU Regulations). Farmers will find participating in the Scheme relatively easy, the three requirements being to:

maintain ewes;

complete the Sheep Census return and submit it by the deadline set by my Department; and

submit the SPS application form by the closing date of 17th May 2010.

The ewe numbers eligible for inclusion in the 2010 Scheme will be based on the numbers as declared in the 2009 Sheep Census.Applicants must maintain sheep on an ongoing basis to retain eligibility for the 2011 and 2012 Schemes, i.e. he or she has to have sheep to declare in their 2011 and 2012 Sheep Census Sheep Returns. Applicants must also submit an SPS application each year to be eligible for the Scheme. The rate payable per hectare will be based on the number of 2010 SPS eligible hectares declared or area deemed eligible for payment, whichever is the lower, using two stocking densities as follows:

2.5 ewes per hectare for Mountain Type Grazing Land (as defined under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme);

7 ewes per hectare for all other lands (including Most Severely, Less Severely Disadvantaged Area and non-Disadvantaged Areas)

The maximum area payable per Scheme-year is 84 hectares in respect of Mountain Type Grazing and 30 hectares for all other lands. The indicative rates of aid are as follows:

Mountain Areas (0 to 20 hectares) : €30 per hectare;

Mountain Areas (20 to 84 hectares): €25 per hectare;

Lowland Areas: €70 per hectare.

The additional payment (total payable €100) is in recognition of the difficulties facing hill sheep farming. The supply of lambs is a key and fundamental element underpinning the sheep and lamb processing industry. This is a hugely valuable export-orientated part of the Irish agri-food sector, supplying a high-value product to consumer markets throughout Europe. The industry is worth around €250 million to the Irish economy and over two thirds of the product is exported.