Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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477. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if any examination was carried out using standard output data from the Central Statistics Office Census of agriculture and data from Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine data bases to determine relative disadvantage on a DED by DED basis; whether this information could be used to calibrate the payment rates for the ANC-DAS scheme between more severely handicapped, lowland, less severely handicapped, lowland, and mountain type land in a similar way to the method used in relation to this data to determine payment rates for the overall ANC scheme by comparing the same data between DEDs containing designated land with DEDs containing no designated lands; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34481/14]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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478. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the relative rates of ANC payment in the three types of designation for the ANC scheme more severely handicapped, less severely handicapped and mountain type grazing; if the payments in each designated area was paid out on the same basis as is used to calculate the overall level of disadvantage in these areas allowing that the overall allocation for the ANC Scheme would remain as provided for in the plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34482/14]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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479. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the objective criteria based on natural constraint used to determine the proposed rates of ANC-DAS payment in 2014; if he is satisfied that this rate of payment reflects the relative natural constraint in each type of designated area, severely, less severely and mountain type; if the methodology outlined in the rural development plan was used for the purpose; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34483/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 477 to 479, inclusive, together.

Following a review at EU level the Less Favoured Areas Scheme was replaced as part of the overall agreement on the CAP Reform Package. The new Scheme, to be known as Areas of Natural Constraint, is to be delineated by Member States using soil and climatic criteria, as proposed by the Commission, as follows:

- Climate, including Low Temperature and Heat Stress;

- Soil, including Drainage, Texture & Stoniness, Rooting Depth and Chemical Properties;

- Soil & Climate, including Soil Moisture Deficit (SMD);

- Terrain, including Slope.

In Ireland’s case, the three most relevant criteria are SMD (soil saturation), shallow/stony soils and slopes.

An area (administrative unit) would be delineated as an area of Natural Handicap, when it meets the proposed threshold set for one of the above criteria only. The Commission are suggesting the delineation be carried out a LAU2 level – DED in Ireland’s case. To qualify under the new system, an area will need to show that at least two-thirds of its utilised agricultural land meets at least one of these eight criteria.

The resultant Areas of Natural Handicap would be subject to a fine-tuning process. These so called Second Stage Criteria are designed to remove areas which, although they meet the biophysical criteria, are deemed to have overcome the natural disadvantage and, therefore, should not benefit under the Scheme.

The Review is an involved process, and, as such, will take some time to complete. Insofar as Ireland is concerned, our ability to delineate as required was dependent on the completion by Teagasc of their national Soil Survey, which was only recently finalised by Teagasc and officially launched this week. A process will be initiated by my Department of using the relevant data from the soil map, supplemented by climatic data to do the initial delineation. The outcome of this process must be subjected to significant and robust verification giving the importance of an area losing or gaining designation under the ANC Scheme. This verification will include ground truthing. It will be very important to ensure the final decisions are as accurate as possible given that it is not an exact scientific process. There is the provision that a Member State could designate an area up to 10% of its land mass as areas of specific constraints. These could be areas that do not meet the two thirds threshold using one of the 8 criteria but exceeds that threshold when the impact of two criteria is accumulated. In any event, an appeals process will have to be in place to deal with appeals from any area that was not designated where it considers that it should have been. The delineation process is, therefore, likely to take some time before it is finally concluded.

The ANC Scheme will be introduced in 2015 and will be subject to the provisions of the new RD Regulation (1305/2013). Pending the outcome of the Review and the implementation of the new designations, the aid can continue to be paid to farmers situated in the existing Less Favoured Areas pending the new delineation using the bio-physical criteria. It has provisionally being decided that the ANC Scheme will have a funding of €195 million per annum, which is the same as the 2013 and 2014 level of funding.