Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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878. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding those who have leased land with entitlements for the years 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 in relation to those entitlements for the new Common Agricultural Policy programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13595/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Any farmer who was entitled to receive a direct payment in 2013 (Single Payment, Grassland Sheep Scheme, Burren Life Scheme, Beef Data Scheme) is automatically eligible to receive an allocation of entitlements under the Basic Payment Scheme in 2015. The status of entitlements held in 2013, whether leased or owned, has no impact on the establishment of such an allocation right.

The value of entitlements that will be allocated to a farmer in 2015 will be based on a percentage of the value of entitlements (and where relevant the payment received in 2014 under the Grassland Sheep Scheme) owned by the farmer on the closing date for applications under the 2014 scheme year. When carrying forward the value of leased entitlements to the Basic Payment Scheme in 2015, such value will be assigned to the owner of the entitlements (where the owner is eligible to participate in the Basic Payment Scheme) and not to the lessee.

A lessor and lessee may wish to carry forward an existing lease into the new Basic Payment Scheme and may do so by way of a Private Contract Clause. However, to enter into such an agreement, the lessor must hold an allocation right (from 2013), must remain an active farmer in 2015 and must also establish entitlements in his own right in 2015.

A difficulty arises where lessors have leased out their entire holding and all entitlements for a period which includes 2013 and consequently do not have an automatic ‘allocation right’. In most cases they will not be ‘active farmers’ in 2015. As a consequence, these 100% lessors will neither be eligible to establish entitlements in their own right, nor can they enter into a PCC to transfer entitlements to the lessee. The value of such 100% leased entitlements would be lost to both lessor and lessee (but would remain in the overall fund for redistribution). This scenario also applies to those who have leased out a portion of their entitlements in 2013 but failed to draw down a payment on the entitlements they retain.

The value of such leased entitlements will be lost to both lessor and lessee unless the entitlements in question are transferred permanently by sale or gift before 15 May 2014 to a person who holds an allocation right, ideally the existing lessee. My Department is writing to all persons impacted by this scenario to advise them of their options.