Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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300. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers that have entitlements of value of 0 to €100, €100 to €200, €200 to €300, €300 to €400 and above €400, respectively; the average stocking density by the same intervals except for tillage farmers; if, in the forthcoming Common Agricultural Policy, there will be convergence of the rates of entitlements that are based on events that happened in 2002; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24949/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The table below illustrates the sets of payment entitlements held by farmers divided into ranges based on Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payment entitlement unit values as requested by the Deputy. It is useful to note that farmers may hold more than one set of payment entitlements, each of which may fall into separate intervals as specified in the question. Therefore, this table shows the numbers of sets of entitlements under each interval. This data is as of 10th May 2021 but will not remain static as the payment entitlement sets evolve due to ongoing transfers of payment entitlements between farmers.

The total number of sets of payment entitlements (n=176,883) is greater than the total number of farmers holding payment entitlements; as mentioned above this is due to the fact that farmers can have a number of sets of payment entitlements of varying values. To classify the data by farmer would require the payment entitlement unit values to be averaged and thus would skew the data. It is for this reason that the data cannot be mapped to stocking density as it would provide an imprecise representation.

All payment entitlements held under the BPS were subject to convergence. Convergence is a mandatory provision in the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) programme to redistribute funds between farmers. Over the period 2015-2019, those with higher value payment entitlements saw a reduction in their values while those with payment entitlements that had a value of less than 90% of the average value saw an increase. In 2019, all payment entitlement values reached a minimum of 60% of the national average.

The new legislative proposals for the CAP are ongoing with final agreement on convergence depending on the outcome of the trilogue process. Current indications are that the convergence of payment entitlements will continue under the new CAP.

The Department will continue to examine all the options presented during the negotiations in order to achieve the best possible outcome for Irish farmers.