Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will respond to representations received regarding the Glenary commonage in County Waterford (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16850/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It is important to point out that one of the primary provisions of the EU regulations governing payments under the Single Payment Scheme, the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and other area-based schemes is that the area of land declared by individual applicants must not exceed the total eligible area, as defined in the Regulations. Commission Regulation (EC) No 1122/2009 (which replaced Commission Regulation (EC) No 796/2004) provides that where there is an over-declaration of the area declared, applicants are not entitled to benefit from payment until the over-claim is resolved. The provisions of Regulation 1122/2009 also provide for the imposition of penalties in respect of over-declarations. The Deputy will be aware that the area claimed by the claimants for many years comprises of more land than there is available on Glenary Commonage for the purposes of the Single Payment Scheme and the other area-based schemes.

Furthermore, my Department has no jurisdiction in relation to disputes over Title, Ownership or grazing claims to land. All parties to this dispute have been made aware of this. The law on incorporal hereditaments is very complex. The establishment and loss of same is governed by the prescription acts and common law. In this case Legal Title is based on a Land Commission Vesting Order dated 30 June 1950. Other parties may have established grazing rights on the mountain and other parties may have lost same. This is obviously a matter of evidence and the Circuit or High Court has jurisdiction in the matter. The area is further complicated in that grazing rights invariably attach to appurtenant lowland and from our experience the court orders obtained by claimants are based on the common law principles of 'Levancy and Couchancy'. In simple terms this means that the right to graze is based upon the ability of a person’s lowland to sustain the sheep for the winter period.

I would also like to bring to the attention of the Deputy the efforts made by this Department to find a resolution to this dispute. In particular, I wish to refer to the number of meetings organised by this Department at which efforts were made to resolve the dispute and allow payments to issue. In addition, officers of this Department have spent much time over many years in discussions with the parties involved. However, no resolution could be achieved despite the efforts made by this Department to secure a settlement.

I would strongly urge all of the parties directly involved with this commonage and their representatives to come together and seek a resolution to this matter. Their cooperation and agreement is the only way in which this matter can be resolved.