Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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170. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will confirm the level of national co-financing in the current RDP 2007-2013; if he will confirm his proposals for national co-financing in RDP 2014-2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53411/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Under the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2007 - 2013 over €4.8 billion is currently allocated to fund the support measures under the Programme. Various co-financing rates have applied at different times and to different measures over the course of the RDP. However, up to late November 2013 there had been total expenditure of €4.03 billion, of which €2.27 billion was EU funding.

In relation to the new RDP, 2014-2020, the European Council agreement on the Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) provides some €313m per year, or a total of €2.19bn, for Ireland under Pillar 2 of the CAP for the period 2014 – 2020.

A general EU co-financing rate of 53% is set out in the draft Rural Development Regulation but this rate may rise to a maximum of 80% for measures such as farm and business development, co-operation activities, and LEADER projects. Environmental type measures may be co-funded up to 75%. The total Exchequer funding that will be required to draw down the available European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) funding will depend on the types of measures included in the new Rural Development Programme and on the co-financing rates applied to these measures.

There are a number of conditions attached to Ireland’s allocation of €313 million per annum. The draft Regulation provides that at least 5% of EAFRD funding must be reserved for LEADER while the draft Common Provisions Regulation provides that 6% of EAFRD funding must be set aside to a national performance reserve. The funding set aside to the performance reserve will be allocated to each Member State following a performance review in 2019. Finally, the draft Rural Development Regulation sets out that 30% of the total EAFRD amount must be reserved for environmental operations and climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.

Work is currently ongoing in my Department to design the new Rural Development Programme (RDP) for the period from 2014 – 2020. In designing the new RDP, my Department must take account of the range of requirements set out in the draft Rural Development Regulation and the need to support key policy aims for the agri-food sector in the light of the Food Harvest 2020 strategy. In undertaking this work, a number of ex-ante analyses are being undertaken and a public consultation process has also taken place.

While final decisions in relation to what measures are to be included in the new RDP have not yet been made, my Department is in ongoing contact with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to the overall financing that will be required.