Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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229. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if unspent funding under the rural development programme 2014 to 2020 can be allocated to the young farmers scheme and national reserve 2017 and 2018 in view of the fact that there has been an 80% decrease in support for farmers under these schemes since 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45135/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Article 14 of EU Regulation No 1307/2013 (Direct Payments Regulation) and Article 58 of EU Regulation No 1305/2013 (Rural Development Regulation) allow Member States to transfer up to 15% of Pillar 1 funds to Pillar 2 and vice versa on an annual basis. Member States with direct payments per hectare less than 90% of the EU average may transfer up to 25% from Pillar 2 to Pillar 1 on an annual basis. If any transfers were to be made between Pillar 1 and Pillar 2, the deadlines to notify the Commission were 1 August 2014 for calendar years 2015-2019 and 1 August 2017 for any revised transfers from calendar year 2018. Ireland did not avail of this provision as there were no funds available under the Rural Development Programme to transfer to Pillar 1. There will be no underspend under the RDP and the €4 billion of EU/exchequer funds provided for will be spent over the lifetime of the programme.

As regards the National Reserve, and in accordance with EU Regulations, Member States were obliged to apply a linear percentage cut to the Basic Payment Scheme financial ceiling in order to establish a National Reserve in the first year of implementation of the Basic Payment Scheme. Therefore in 2015 Ireland applied the maximum available linear cut of 3% in order to provide funding of some €24 million under the National Reserve. There was no National Reserve in 2016 as all available funding of €24 million had been utilised under the 2015 scheme in allocating payment entitlements to 6,250 successful applicants.

For subsequent years the relevant EU Regulations provide for the replenishment of funding in the National Reserve by the following means:

- Surrender of entitlements that remain unused by farmers for two consecutive years;

- ‘Clawback’ derived following the transfer of entitlements without land. In Ireland this clawback applied to the sale of entitlements without land;

- The Regulations also provide Member States with the option to impose a linear cut to the value of all farmers’ entitlements to replenish the National Reserve.

Following consultation with the Direct Payment Advisory Committee, which includes members of all the main farming organisations and education and advisory bodies a decision was made to apply a linear cut of 0.6% to farmers entitlements to provide funding a 2017 National Reserve. This funding of just over €5m will provide for an allocation of entitlements to young farmers and new entrants to farming.

The Young Farmers scheme is a separate EU funded scheme and funding for this scheme is provided on an annual basis. In accordance with EU Regulations governing the operation of the Young Farmers Scheme, Ireland opted to apply the maximum 2% of the national ceiling to provide funding of some €24 million for the Young farmers Scheme each year from 2015 to 2019, approximately €120m over the lifetime of the scheme.