Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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508. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the fact that due to the severity of the eligibility cutbacks to the single farm payments on the most marginal small farmers in the disadvantaged areas, that many now will be forced to cease farming and join the dole queues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54422/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be fully aware of the value of the EU funded Direct Payment Schemes to Ireland. Each year farmers in Ireland benefit from funding of over €1.5 billion under Schemes such as the Single Farm Payment Scheme, the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme, the Agri-Environment Schemes, etc. This comprises the entire net income of many thousands of Irish farmers.

The European Commission has an obligation to ensure that Member States manage and use the EU funding granted to them in accordance with the very restrictive provisions governing the Schemes and general financial provisions. All of the lands declared by farmers must be eligible if these lands benefit from payment under one of more of these Schemes. My Department is currently carrying out a comprehensive exercise by excluding ineligible features, such as houses, roads, scrub, rivers, etc. in land parcels declared by farmers. In the vast majority of cases, the exclusion has no impact on payments as the farmers in question have taken a prudent approach and reduced the declared area to take account of the ineligible feature. No cutbacks have been applied on eligible land.

I would like to reassure the Deputy that every effort is being made to protect the interests of the majority of farmers who were fully compliant in the declarations they made on an annual basis under the Schemes.