John Perry
Question:107 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if a favourable decision will be made in relation to a REP scheme application for a person (details supplied) in County Sligo. [25316/98]
Written Answers - Rural Environment Protection Scheme.
The person's REPS application includes commonage land and the revised REP scheme requires that a framework plan be drawn up for each commonage. The preparation of the framework plans will be carried out under the supervision of my Department and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands. It will take some time before framework plans will be available for all commonages.
In the meantime, as I announced recently, interim arrangements have been agreed between my Department and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands to put a national commonage framework plan in place pending the completion of individual commonage framework plans. The national plan involves a 30 per cent reduction for flock holders who use commonage in six counties, including Sligo. This means that the farmers concerned who are already in REPS or who join, on the basis of the national framework plan, can avail of the higher rates of compensation of £80 per acre for the first 100 acres with additional payments for the next 200 acres. This higher payment is designed to compensate for, inter alia, stock reductions.
Any individual plan drawn up under the interim measure will be reviewed when the commonage framework plan is available and sheep numbers will be adjusted in line with the sustainable stocking levels set out in that framework plan.