Written answers

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Commonage Framework Plans

Photo of Charlie McConalogueCharlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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30. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if farmers with rights to commonage land will have to agree a grazing plan with at least 50% of farmers using the same commonage in order to qualify for single farm payments and disadvantaged area payments under the new Common Agricultural Policy proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35162/14]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Commonage lands form an important part of the farming enterprises of many farmers, in addition to being crucial from the point of view of bio-diversity, wildlife, amenities and tourism. A total of some 14,936 farmers declare commonage land under the Single Payment Scheme and the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme. Commonage lands form a significant area of the lands declared annually by farmers in Ireland for the purposes of claiming the Single Farm Payment, the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and other Direct Payment Schemes, with approximately 7% of the lands declared are commonage lands. However, there is a growing risk of land abandonment on commonages as under-grazing becomes more of a problem. Farming of commonages is a complex matter, with issues about the legal right to claim, in addition to regular disputes about the grazing of the commonages.

In the case of the treatment of commonage lands under the 2014 Direct Payment Schemes, the situation remains unchanged. However, from 2015 onwards, a minimum grazing requirement, equivalent to at least one ewe per 1.5 hectares, will be required of all those applicants declaring marginal lands including commonage under the Basic Payment Scheme and the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme. A lower grazing level will be fixed for marginal lands where it is necessary on environmental grounds. These requirements must be met by each individual claimant by end December 2015 at the latest. The minimum grazing requirement must be met in order to qualify for the Basic Payment Scheme and the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme under the new CAP and does not require a grazing plan with at least 50% of farmers using the same commonage.

With a view to having a system to meet the requirements of the Basic Payment Scheme and Areas of Natural Constraint, which will be implemented in 2015, my Department will be writing to all commonage claimants in the coming weeks setting out their individual grazing requirements for marginal lands. The claimants will have the right, if they consider that the figures provided would not meet the requirements of their commonage, to submit an assessment by a professional planner providing alternative figures.

Above the minimum stocking level of one ewe per 1.5 hectares, the management of the grazing requirement is a matter for the individual claimants, provided that the commonage is kept in good agricultural and environmental condition and meets all the requirements for both the BPS and ANC schemes. Farmers should bear in mind that they must keep the land adequately grazed in order to ensure that the commonage retains the area eligible for payment.

Photo of Charlie McConalogueCharlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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31. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will revise the requirement for 50% of farmers on a commonage to agree a grazing plan in order to participate in GLAS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35163/14]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The preservation and restoration of commonages, and the continuation of suitable and environmentally friendly farming practices on the hills, is a core element of GLAS and part of Ireland’s overall plan for halting biodiversity loss. In recognition of the importance of commonages, hill farmers will get priority access into GLAS but I think it is accepted by all that the most effective management of these hills is achieved when those who are actively farming it work together. That is why the creation of a Commonage Management Plan, that encourages the shareholders themselves to take control of the grazing of their commonage, is the model we have chosen for GLAS. In addition, in order to qualify for an agri-environment payment, the actions undertaken by farmers must be above the baseline for the Basic Payment Scheme, and it is the actions in the Commonage Management Plan which demonstrate this. The only requirement for commonage farmers joining GLAS is for 50% of active farmers to sign up to a GLAS commonage plan or sufficient farmers to bring in at least 50% of the land. There is no imposition of minimum or maximum stocking densities, and smaller commonages of less than ten hectares in size will not be subject to any minimum participation requirement. On commonages of that size, farmers can enter GLAS in their own right.

I do not believe that a minimum participation requirement based on this model is insurmountable and there are ways in which the application process can be structured that might assist. However, where real difficulties are being encountered the farmers concerned can make a case to the Commonage Implementation Committee for entry to the scheme. If it is clear that the farmer or farmers have made every effort to meet the requirement but have failed through no fault of their own, they will not be locked out of GLAS.

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