Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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510. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which compensation paid to vegetable farmers whose crops were destroyed by the cold snap of late 2009 and early 2010 was in accordance with EU state aid rules; if he will now apply the same criteria to tillage farmers on the south coast of Cork, who suffered winter barley crop losses in late 2015 and early 2016 as a result of the storm belt which in turn created a sea mist that facilitated a salt drift to blow inland and do untold damage to the tillage crops of the farmers; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that these same farmers have taken a double hit in that after replanting their crops they had to endure a salvaging operation in order to harvest same. [29435/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I fully acknowledge and accept that there are ongoing difficulties being experienced by the farming community not least by our tillage farmers. In this connection I hosted a meeting of all Tillage sector stakeholders which took place on Wednesday last where during our discussions we evaluated the current situation in the light of present challenges and addressed emerging opportunities. 

I confirmed at the meeting that my Department has received over 132,000 applications this year from farmers under the Direct Aid Schemes, which are funded or partially funded by the EU. The Schemes involved include the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), the Areas of Natural Scheme, GLAS and AEOS which are worth in excess of €1.5 billion annually.

I have directed my officials to prioritise processing of all farm payments this year. In relation to the BPS and Greening Payments, I am pleased to confirm that advance payment is scheduled for 17 October, next the earliest possible date by which payments can commence under the governing EU Regulations and that the necessary preparations are being made to maximise the number of payments on that date. While the standard provision is for a 50% advance, the Commission has made legal provision for a 70% advance again this year.  The second instalment of payments will commence on 1 December. 

 Processing of the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme payments is on schedule and payments commenced during the third week in September with almost 65,000 applicants being paid a total of €140.9 million. This was an increase on the 57,000 applicants paid €117 million in the first phase in 2015. It is expected that approx 96,500 will fulfil the scheme eligibility requirements this year. To date almost 80,000 applicants have been paid a total of €172 million. As is normal at this juncture, many farmers are not yet eligible for payment as they have not yet fulfilled the necessary stocking requirements under the ANC scheme but will do so before the end of the year. Payments are continuing on a twice weekly basis to ensure prompt payments to applicants as they fulfil the scheme stocking requirements.

I also confirmed at the meeting last week, the Government’s ongoing commitment to the sector, both at farm and processing level which is fully reflected in the Food Wise 2025 blueprint for the industry. In particular, I highlighted the opportunities to increase the focus on adding value to what is a quality product.