Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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242. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out his plans to adopt Article 4(1)(h) of European Union Regulation 1307/2013 to help flexibility, standards and objective criteria regarding land eligibility in marginal land, commonages and hill areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13967/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Under the provisions of the Basic Payment Scheme, farmers need to declare an eligible hectare for each payment entitlement held in order to benefit from payment. The hectares declared must be eligible and must have an agricultural activity carried out on them. The situation in Ireland has not changed since the Single Payment Scheme was replaced by the Basic Payment Scheme at the beginning of 2015. Eligible lands include those lands with herbaceous grasses and other grazable vegetation. In Ireland, the main type of vegetation other than grasses is heather and this continues to be eligible for payment where it is grazable. I am, however, pursuing options that may assist farmers, who have marginal lands, in particular those that have designated land, in meeting the requirements of the Direct Payment regulations. My Department officials are in direct contact with the EU Commission with the intention of pursuing all possible options and bringing the matter to an early conclusion.