Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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924. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the conditions that will have to be complied with by livestock farmers to receive the greening payment under the Common Agricultural Policy regime 2014-2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46572/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Payment for agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment, otherwise known as ‘greening’, forms an integral part of the new Direct Payment regime that will come into force in 2015. Farmers who participate in the Basic Payment Scheme must implement the three standard greening measures as follows: Crop diversification; Permanent grassland; Ecological Focus Area (EFA).

There is no obligation under ‘crop diversification’ where the arable land of the holding covers less than ten hectares. Where the arable land of the holding covers between 10 and 30 hectares, the farmer is obliged to have at least two crops of which the main crop shall not cover more than 75% of the arable land. Where the arable land of the holding covers more than 30 hectares, the farmer is obliged to have at least three crops of which the main crop shall not cover more than 75% of the arable land and the two main crops shall not cover more than 95% of the arable land.

Where there is more than 15 hectares of arable land in a holding, then at least 5% of the arable land must be allocated to Ecological Focus Area. There are a number of features which are considered Ecological Focus Area including landscape features such as hedges, ditches, trees in line or in group etc. Insofar as livestock farmers are concerned there is an obligation to ensure that the ratio of permanent grassland to total agricultural area does not decrease by more than 5% compared to a reference ratio to be established by Member States in 2015. This obligation can be monitored at National level and is therefore unlikely to affect individual livestock farmers. There is also an obligation on Member States to designate environmentally sensitive permanent grasslands, such as peat and wetlands, situated in areas covered by the Natura Directive and farmers will be prevented from ploughing such areas. It is most unlikely that such areas in Ireland would be ploughed in any event.

There are a number of exemptions whereby farmers will be considered to have fulfilled one or more of their greening obligations in certain circumstances. Of most relevance to Ireland, and to livestock farmers in particular, is the provision that exempts farms where more than 75% of the total eligible land of the holding is used for the production of grasses or other herbaceous forage or land laying fallow, or a combination of these, provided that any remaining arable area does not exceed 30 hectares. It is my intention to decide on the final shape of greening and all other issues related to the new Direct Payments system in Ireland later this year.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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925. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position of farmers in relation to their entitlements post-2014 where they leased out their entitlements in 2013 and did not make a claim for single farm payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46573/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Under the new Direct Payments regime which comes into force in 2015, only those persons who receive a payment under the Single Payment Scheme in the 2013 scheme year will be automatically entitled to an allocation of a new set of entitlements under the Basic Payment Scheme. The status of entitlements that are leased out for the 2014 scheme year is currently the subject of discussion with the EU Commission as part of the process of producing Delegated Acts. I am not in a position to comment further on this issue until such time as the Delegated Acts are finalised.