Written answers
Thursday, 30 July 2020
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Rural Development Programme
John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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969. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the rural development fund has been fully allocated; and the allocation made and to whom. [20555/20]
Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland’s Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020 (RDP) represents a substantial investment, by both the EU and the National Exchequer, in the agri-food sector and in Irish farmers. The RDP is co-funded by the EU’s European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development ( EAFRD) to a sum of €2.19 billion over the programme lifespan. This EU funding is supplemented by Exchequer funding bringing the total allocation to over €4 billion, a substantial vote of confidence in Irish farming.
The RDP includes a range of measures, including multi-annual schemes such as Green Low-carbon Agri-environment Scheme (GLAS), Beef Data & Genomics Programme (BDGP) and the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS), which are now closed and are fully subscribed. Other schemes such as Areas facing Natural or Other Constraints (ANC) are applied for on an annual basis, and others such as Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) will continue to recruit participants in tranches until the end of the RDP. The allocations to the various measures are outlined in the attached table. I can confirm that the full €4 billion has been allocated to RDP measures.
| Measure | € |
|---|---|
| Measure 1 - Knowledge transfer and information actions | 95,800,000 |
| Measure 2 - Advisory services | 8,300,000 |
| Measure 4 - Investments in physical assets (TAMS) | 425,000,000 |
| Measure 7 – Rural Services and renewal – Traditional Farm Buildings | 6,000,000 |
| Measure 10 - Agri-environment-climate (GLAS, BDGP, Burren Programme, transitional REPS/AEOS) | 1,531,005,630 |
| Measure 11 - Organic farming | 56,000,000 |
| Measure 12 – Natura | 48,250,000 |
| Measure 13 - Payments to areas facing natural or other specific constraints (ANCs) | 1,546,000,000 |
| Measure 14 – Animal Welfare | 100,000,000 |
| Measure 16 - Co-operation – EIP AGRI (European Innovation Partnerships) | 62,000,000 |
| Measure 19 - Support for LEADER local development | 250,000,000 |
| Measure 20 - Technical Assistance | 8,145,000 |
| Early Retirement Scheme Transitional | 9,207,547 |
| TOTAL | 4,145,708,177 |
Ireland leads other Member States in terms of our implementation of the RDP and currently has the second highest rate of drawn-down of EU funds among all Member States. The average EU financial rate for draw down of funds up to the end of June 2020 was 63%, whereas Ireland’s execution rate was 85%. This progress is testament to the successful roll-out, uptake and implementation of schemes under the RDP. I fully anticipate that based on current up-take and projections, the entire budget allocation of some €4 billion for the Rural Development Programme will be spent and that the entire €2.19 billion of EU co-funding will be drawn down.
Information on all CAP funding beneficiaries including under the RDP measures is published on my Department's website and can be accessed by the following link:
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