Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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Question 480: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to introduce a loan guarantee scheme to assist pig farmers with building costs associated with meeting the requirements of the EU legislation on loose sow accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13466/12]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 489: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will accommodate pig producers who have to comply with animal welfare legislation by the end of the year but who may have difficulty obtaining planning permission and completion of the works by the 31 December 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13735/12]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 490: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will encourage the banking sector to facilitate viable pig farming enterprises which may need capital investment for redevelopment relating to animal welfare provisions with particular reference to the requirement for ongoing working capital in the current difficult economic situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13736/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 480, 489 and 490 together.

The pig sector remains the third largest individual component of the agri-food sector, with production, prices and exports all growing significantly during 2011. The industry faces a number of challenges in the short and medium term and my Department will continue to assist the sector to resolve these issues.

New EU Animal Welfare rules set down new standards in relation to the housing of sows and these are due to come into force on 1 January 2013. A significant number of producers have undertaken the necessary work required in order to upgrade their facilities in order to comply with the new rules. Teagasc have estimated that approximately 36% of pig units, housing some 44% of the sow population are presently compliant with the provisions.

Notwithstanding this, my Department is aware of the scale of the challenge facing pig farmers in respect of the new requirements. To this end, the Department introduced a Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) for Sow Welfare in June 2010. Grant-aid is available at a rate of 40% to eligible producers with a maximum investment ceiling of €300,000, i.e. a maximum grant of €120,000. A total of €13 million has been set aside under this scheme. It follows two earlier schemes in 2005 and 2007 which made payments of €6.2 million to 63 applicants.

At present, 32 applications for grants worth approximately €3 million have been received under the current scheme. Applications must be accompanied by either full planning permission or a declaration of exemption from planning. As you are aware, planning matters are entirely a matter for local authorities but I am writing to the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government to highlight issues which have been raised with my Department on this matter.

Approaches are now being made to the EU Commission with a view to approving an extension to the end-December 2012 deadline for completion of work under the Scheme. If such an extension was to be approved, it would have no effect on the entry into force of the new EU animal welfare rules on 1 January 2013. It would simply enable those farmers who completed the investment works after that date to continue to receive grant-aid under the Scheme.

My Department is in regular contact with banking representatives and has encouraged them to discuss requirements with sectoral agri-food interests. It is of course important that those seeking credit present a suitable business case with detailed cash flow projections. In this context the Department also facilitated contacts between Teagasc and the Banking sector to encourage seminars and training in relation to credit application. Any farming enterprises that feel they have not been treated fairly in relation to access to credit can contact the Credit Review Office, who will review their case.

The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is currently working on the establishment of a Temporary Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme for small business. Primary production in agriculture, horticulture and fisheries are excluded from the scope of the scheme in the light of particular restrictions under the De Minimis State Aid rules.

I can assure you that my Department and its agencies will continue to work closely with the industry to ensure that it can continue to develop and grow in accordance with the targets in the Food Harvest 2020 Report.