Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

893. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) will be paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47462/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The person named was approved to GLAS 1 with a contract commencement date of 1^stOctober 2015. Payments issued for scheme years 2015 to 2022 inclusive.

The GLAS contract was selected for an on-farm inspection on 15^thNovember 2022. The findings in relation to the Protection of Watercourses from Bovines (PWCB) action resulted in a reduction and penalty from the 2022 Scheme payment and also a clawback of monies already paid for previous GLAS Scheme Years. In addition to the inspection finding, the withdrawal of Parcel P17307069 from the GLAS contract in 2019 resulted in an additional clawback of GLAS payments. A letter issued from GLAS to the person named outlined the details of these clawbacks on 3^rdOctober 2023.

I can confirm that a sum of €337.92 was recouped from the associated 2022 GLAS balance payment which issued on 19^thMay 2023. The remaining sum of €2,020.83 was subsequently deducted in full from other Departmental scheme payments. There are no further GLAS payments due to the herd owner and the debt has now been settled.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

894. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide clarification regarding eligibility for the Knowledge Transfer Programme, with regard to requirements for participants to be herd keepers, or if they can be joint herd owners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47508/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has brought a new approach to knowledge transfer (KT) – the new system is more targeted, with equal emphasis on CAP objectives and local needs.

An example of this is that each participant will have an annual one-to-one planning meeting with the KT Facilitator, using the farmer’s Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (BISS) application so that the knowledge transfer can be applied to the goals of that farm and crucially can be evaluated in future years.

This new KT Programme is far more tailored to the individual farm and targeted to local needs in accordance with the regulations.

The Knowledge Transfer (KT) Programme 2024-2026 is currently open for submission of Group applications until 10 November 2023 (extended from 31 October). The Programme will be delivered by an approved network of KT Facilitators, with herd owners participating in the Programme.

The terms and conditions of the Programme set out that the participant must attend the group meetings and one-to-one meetings and submit the annual online form. It also states that the participant must have an active business ID such as a herd number, Registered Farm Partnership (RFP) or Company ID, they must have submitted a BISS application in 2023, and must also submit a BISS application in each year of the Programme. They must apply under the herd number used to submit their BISS application.

Participants shall apply for the Programme using the herd number under which their BISS application is made, except for Registered Farm Partnerships. Where participants are members of a Registered Farm Partnership applications must be made under the individual herd numbers. For single herd partnerships or joint ventures one Participant can apply. For multi-herd partnerships the number of Participants will be determined by the number of herd owners.

Herd keepers cannot submit BISS applications and therefore do not meet the eligibility criteria for this Programme.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

895. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide information on the total number of ACRES scorecards submitted in 2023; how many were submitted by 31 August 2023; how many were submitted by the extended deadline of 30 September 2023, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47509/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy is aware, the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme, or ACRES, is the central agri-environment climate measure in Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027, with funding of €1.5 billion committed over the scheme lifetime. This is the largest amount ever committed to an agri-environment scheme. A fundamental element of ACRES is the use of results-based payments to encourage and reward improved environmental outcomes on their farmlands.

In acknowledgement of the pressures faced by farm advisors in submitting scorecards for their clients’ farms by the original deadline of 31^stAugust 2023, I extended the scoring deadline to 29^thSeptember 2023. I was delighted recently to announce that over 98% of all scorecards have been submitted to my Department. In total, more than 170,000 scorecards were issued across 10 scorecard types.

As requested by the Deputy, the number of scorecards submitted by the dates indicated are as follows: