Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason funding under the common agricultural policy was not available to allow farmers here to cover the cost of advice from the Agricultural Consultants Association who are approved advisors under the ccFÁS scheme operated under Article 13 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1782/2006 by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10860/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Under CAP 2007 – 2013, Member States had the option to provide funding for the Farm Advisory Service (FAS) from within the overall funding available under the Rural Development Programme (RDP). Following a consultation process with stakeholders on the allocation of the overall RDP funding available to Ireland, it was decided that the support should be allocated to other measures benefiting farmers, rather than to FAS. This did not, however, reduce the overall drawdown to Ireland under the Programme.

While there is an option in the draft Rural Development measure under the CAP post 2013 proposals to fund a Farm Advisory Service, as negotiations are ongoing, it is too early to predict the eventual outcome and the funding implications for individual aspects.