Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if France or any other EU member state secures coupled payments in the common agriculture policy 2013 negotiations of 10% or more for vulnerable sectors, if he will insist on the same level of coupled support being available for Ireland to support suckler cow and sheep farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6963/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Under the CAP reform package, the EU Commission has proposed two separate ceilings for coupled payments in the future, linked to whether the Member already operates a fully decoupled payment regime at present or whether it still operates coupled support in certain sectors. The proposed ceilings are 5% in respect of Member States such as Ireland who are fully decoupled and 10% in respect of others.

I have long held the view that, as this is a discretionary measure, it seems quite inequitable to allow one Member State more discretion than another. Therefore, I believe that the same percentage limit should be applied in all Member States, rather than 5% for some and 10% for others.

However, as President of the European Council of Agriculture Ministers, my objective is to negotiate a Council position on the reform package by the end of March, with a view to securing an inter-institutional political agreement with the European Parliament and the Commission by the end of June. Bearing this in mind, I will be seeking a compromise solution that will satisfy the needs of all Member States.

Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the implications of the definition of active farmer under the reformed system of common agricultural policy payments. [6913/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The definition of an active farmer has not yet been finalised in the CAP reform negotiations.

The original Commission proposal defined active farmers by reference to their receipts from agricultural activity, confining them to those whose annual direct payments are greater than or equal to 5% of the total receipts obtained from all non-agricultural economic activities or, in the case of certain types of grazing land, to those who carry out a minimum level of agricultural activity as established by the Member State.

The EU Agriculture Council had extensive debates on the Commission proposal and proposed removal of the income criterion from the Commission’s original definition. The Council also added language to allow Member States the option to exclude certain enterprises such as operators of airports, railway companies, waterworks, real estate companies, sport and recreational grounds, hunting estates, fishing and aquaculture estates, camping sites, or other like non-agricultural businesses or activities.

The approach of the Agriculture Committee of the European Parliament is to leave the definition to the discretion of Member States but to base it on farming activity. The Committee also proposes optional exclusions for non-agricultural businesses or enterprises.

My own view is that the most sensible approach is to base the definition on farming activity and to allow Member States the flexibility to exclude the so-called “sofa-farmers” while ensuring that those farming low productivity marginal land remain eligible for payment.

The position of the Council is clear at this point. As Presidency, it will be my job to navigate a course through the diverging positions between the EU Commission, Member States and the European Parliament in order to settle on a compromise acceptable to all.