Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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98. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views of observation number 140 and 149 contained in the European Commission’s observation document Ireland, rural development programme national (details supplied) in respect of the GLAS scheme; if the observations made by the European Commission suggest that there is a requirement for 50% agreement among commonage farmers in order to be eligible for payment under GLAS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48672/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Firstly I would like to point out that my priority is to put in place requirements for commonages that will deliver real and measurable environmental benefits and will fit within the framework of the Rural Development Regulations, which require that farmers are only paid for actions which exceed the baseline for the Basic Payment Scheme. At recent meetings with the Commission it was made clear that it is incumbent on Member States to ensure that payments are above the baseline and that clear evidence of same must be shown in order to secure approval for the Rural Development Programme. The questions raised by the Commission under observations140 and 149, respectively, asked if Ireland was considering using other beneficiaries apart from farmers (e.g. land managers) and asked why we were specifically targeting commonages, and the reasons for the requirement for the 50% participation rate. To observation 140 my officials responded that traditionally we have only paid farmers under agri-environment schemes and intend to continue doing so and do not propose to extend payment to other land managers.

On observation 149, it was explained that commonages are being targeted in GLAS because they are hugely important environmental areas and include a very high proportion of Natura land. My officials pointed out that they are particularly vulnerable habitats and that joint management will deliver enhanced environmental dividends. On this point, there is general agreement amongst all stakeholders that the key to managing these valuable habitats is a single Commonage Management Plan (CMP). I am aware of the concerns raised by hill farmers in this regard.

I am very confident that we can deliver a successful implementation strategy for these commonages and I intend to contact the various representatives in the very near future to outline what I believe is achievable. My focus now is to secure Commission approval to the Rural Development Programme at the earliest possible date so that I can open GLAS to applications, and agreement by all stakeholders on the way forward in terms of commonages is crucial in this regard.