Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on whether farmers on poorer heavier hill and or mountain land who are producing to the best of their ability and the land capacity should receive lesser payments than other farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14675/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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This refers to the EU Commission’s proposal to move to a flat-rate payments system. This would, in the case of several Member States (including Ireland), result in significant transfers between farmers. I believe there is a need for redistribution but I am concerned that moving to a flat rate as proposed would be harmful for the Irish agricultural sector and the Food Harvest 2020 strategy.

The reality here in Ireland is that we are facing two sets of demands on this issue. On the one hand, there are those farmers on low payments per hectare who are arguing for a larger share of the available funding on the grounds of equity and fairness. On the other hand, there are those farmers on high payments per hectare, who have invested Single Payment funds in improving the productive capacity of their farms and do not want to move back from this position. Both sets of demands are understandable and reasonable, but difficult to reconcile. We need a solution that is fair to everyone, which will on the one hand represent a real move away from historic payments, which seriously disadvantage some farmers, but which avoids unreasonably large cuts to those on high payment rates. This is why I have put forward the approximation model, which would give a Member State like Ireland the flexibility to do this.

The key will be to reach a fair compromise, which levels the playing field without putting productive farmers out of business. As is the case with any negotiation, the final position will be somewhere in between my approach and that of the Commission. I am fighting to ensure that the best possible outcome for all farmers is reached, in a balanced and fair way.