Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 293: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the basis upon which he calculated the standard cost which was used in an application for grant aid under the farm waste management scheme in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14394/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The person concerned was an applicant for grant-aid under the Farm Waste Management Scheme and has now received all grants due to him under the Scheme. Under the terms of the Scheme, the standard costs applicable at the date of issue of approval to commence works are applied in order to determine the amount of grant-aid payable in any particular case.

Full details of the calculations used to determine the amount of grant-aid paid in this case will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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Question 294: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the position regarding regional schemes in other parts of Europe to deal with understocking on hills and mountains; his plans to bring these schemes to regions here to try to address this problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14414/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In moving from the old, historical headage schemes to the Single Payment Scheme, farmers were allowed more freedom to decide which particular types of farming enterprise best suited their individual holdings. Subject to the requirements of Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions, farmers benefiting under the Single Payment Scheme and/or the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme are free to farm as they so choose. In recent years the national sheep flock has been declining and to counter this, it was decided that an income support measure should be introduced to assist farmers in maintaining sheep numbers.

The opportunity arose when, as a result of the Health Check negotiations, a provision was introduced in the SPS Regulations, which enabled Member States to utilise unused SPS funds in measures to assist vulnerable sectors and agri-environment Schemes. Ireland decided that, of the total of the €25 million available annually to this country over a three-year period, €18 million would be paid each year to support incomes in the sheep sector. It was then necessary to decide whether the income support in the sheep sector should be in the form of a headage payment or a grassland area payment. Both options were examined but the general consensus was that it was not practical to introduce a headage scheme for sheep. All farming organisations and the sheep farmers concurred with this view. This scheme has been introduced for the years 2010 to 2012 with payments based on the sheep census returns and farmers' annual SPS applications.