Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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179. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the proposals he has put forward to the European agriculture Commissioner for funding to be provided under the crisis reserve fund to finance a fodder support scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52503/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The crisis reserve was established with the intention of providing additional support for the agricultural sector where the sector is affected by major crises.  The reserve is funded by applying a 1.3% deduction from farmers' direct payments (as part of the financial discipline mechanism), on amounts exceeding €2,000, and is accumulated at EU level.  In accordance with CAP legislation, where the crisis reserve is not utilised within the year, the funding is reimbursed to farmers in the following year. 

In June this year, my Department refunded €13.6m to 2016 eligible applicants, which had been deducted from the 2015 BPS payment under the financial discipline mechanism.   In addition, the European Commission confirmed this week that it would reimburse €433 million to European farmers, with Irish farmers being reimbursed to the tune of €13.2 million before 16 October 2018.

Despite the agricultural sector experiencing severe market difficulties arising from the introduction of the Russian Federation Ban on EU agricultural products in September 2014 and subsequent market difficulties in 2015 and 2016, it has proven extremely difficult to mobilise the crisis reserve fund at EU level as was originally intended.

In the event that the crisis reserve fund was to be utilised to finance a fodder support scheme, it would mean that all or part of the 1.3% deducted from farmers' direct payments would not be refunded to farmers as is currently the case.