Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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165. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will commence detailed discussions on the Common Agricultural Policy Rural Development Plan 2014-2020 which is of critical importance to farm incomes for the next six years (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27693/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The new Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 (RDP) will be a key support in enhancing the competitiveness of the agri-food sector, achieving more sustainable management of natural resources and ensuring a more balanced development of rural areas. The process of developing the draft RDP has been a lengthy and complex one. A central element of this process has been ongoing and substantive stakeholder and public consultation. The approach to this consultation has centred on:

- An open call for submissions launched in December, 2012,

- Stakeholder workshops facilitated by the National Rural Network in July, 2013,

- A further open call for submissions and a stakeholder event building on the announcement of proposed RDP measures in January, 2014,

- An open call for submissions based around the Strategic Environmental Assessment of the RDP in May, 2013, and

- Ongoing meetings between officials in my Department and stakeholders as the design of the RDP has progressed.

Having taking into account the results of this extensive consultation, the draft RDP is currently being finalised. The detailed elements referred to by the Deputy will be included in this draft to be submitted to the EU Commission. This draft will then form the basis for detailed negotiations over a number of months with the European Commission. As these detailed negotiations progress, I expect that there will also be further discussion with stakeholders in relation to the finalisation of the RDP.