Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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1076. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures he proposes to introduce to assist dairy farmers following the decision by the European Union agriculture Council at the March 2016 meeting to give member states the option to provide farmers with state aid up to €15,000 per year for a period up to three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10581/16]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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1077. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures he proposes to introduce to assist pig producers following the decision by the European Union agriculture Council at the March 2016 meeting to give member states the option to provide farmers with state aid up to €15,000 per year for a period up to three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10582/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1076 and 1077 together.

In response to the ongoing market difficulties in the dairy, pigmeat, and fruit and vegetables sectors, the Council of Agriculture Ministers agreed a further package of measures in March 2016. Among these was the making available of more flexible state aid support.

It will now be possible for farmers (SMEs) to access temporary finance up to a maximum amount of €15,000 per farm per year in circumstances where they either:

(i) make a commitment to freeze or reduce production compared to a given reference period, or

(ii) use the funds to bridge a liquidity gap.

Aid as provisionally envisaged would be granted in the form of direct grants, loans or guarantees in the case of freezing/reducing production, and in the form of loans or guarantees in the case of liquidity assistance (remunerated in the form of an interest payment). The latter could also be provided in grant form if accompanied by a commitment to freeze or reduce production. Interaction and discussion with the Commission is ongoing in respect of finalising the details of such provisions.

The Department is continuing to monitor market developments very closely, and will continue to work with the Commission and with other Member States in developing appropriate responses.

Member States now have a suite of measures that have been made available since September 2015, and will respond in accordance with their domestic circumstances. To date Ireland has used the targeted aid package of €27.4m (€13.7m EU and €13.7m national funding) to support producers in the dairy and pigmeat sectors, and has pushed for appropriate changes in the operation of market support measures such as aids to private storage.

There are no plans to avail of the option to provide national funding to freeze or reduce milk supply compared to a given reference period. On the question of liquidity, the Department is at present commissioning an ex ante appraisal to examine the merits of including a provision for financial  instruments in its Rural Development Programme, and is continuing to  engage with banks and with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland on the provision of flexible finance to farmers.