asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is satisfied with the current draft of EEC regulations on agricultural structures and the effects the regulations would have on agriculture in Ireland.
20.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Agriculture Structures.
19.
(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will outline the new structures package agreed upon recently by the European Commission; if he will confirm that the new system will be more flexible and that a wider band of farmers will attract Community aid; if he will give an indication as to when the new structures will be implemented by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 20 together.
Proposals for improving the efficiency of agricultural structures were agreed to by the Council of Ministers at their meeting on 11-12 March and entered into force on 1 April 1985. The main provisions are:
(i) Aid for investments of up to 60,000 ECU per man work unit and 120,000 ECU per holding in any six year period for fulltime farmers earning less than a reference level of income who take out improvement plans for improving the economic situation of their holdings and undertake to keep simplified accounts.
(ii) Special aids for young farmers — under 40 years of age, comprising: (a) installation aid, consisting of a single premium of up to 7,500 ECU and an interest rate subsidy on loans to cover the costs arising from the first installation; (b) additional investment aid, provided the young farmer submits an improvement plan within five years of being installed on a holding for the first time. The granting of these aids would be subject to the possession of specified occupational skills and to certain other requirements.
(iii) Aid for keeping accounts, launching aids for mutual assistance groups, relief services groups and management services groups.
(iv) Aids for private afforestation.
(v) Aids for training courses for farmers, farm workers, leaders and managers of co-operatives and producer groups and special courses to enable young farmers to qualify for the special aids earmarked for them.
(vi) National aids for farming in environmentally sensitive areas.
(vii) Headage payments in disadvantaged areas largely as at present, except that headage payments may be made for up to 20 dairy cows as against ten in the past. Payment may also be made in respect of equine animals. Where a farmer in receipt of headage payments afforests all or part of his land the area could continue to be taken into account for headage payments for a period of 15 years.
The major changes under the new measure relate to on-farm investment. At present Community aid is available only to development farmers following a plan to achieve the comparable income within the period of the plan. Under the new system, the comparable income would no longer be a target figure; instead any fulltime farmer with an income below a reference level and having acceptable vocational skills, who submits a farm plan designed to improve or stabilise his income could qualify for Community aid. This means that Community assisted investment aid will now be available to a wider band of farmers. It should be noted that the on-farm investment aid is mandatory on member states whereas most of the other measures are optional.
By and large, the new regulation is a considerable improvement on the previous directive. A new scheme to implement the regulation is being drawn up by my Department at present and it is intended to have it operational by 1 October next.
(Limerick West): Will the Government or the Minister's Department be prepared to implement all aspects of the new structures, or has any decision been taken on that yet?
Decisions will be taken but, in the meantime we hope to have it operational on 1 October next. First of all, it will have to be brought to the Government — that will take some months — and then brought to the Council and Commission in Brussels.
(Limerick West): Could the Minister give us an indication now of what will be the likely Exchequer contribution to the scheme?
I honestly do not know. I could not answer that question. We shall have to wait until the scheme has been drawn up.
Before this scheme is brought in, will the Minister say if he will take a decision to pay farmers grant aid to which they are entitled under the farm modernisation scheme as it has been implemented to date?
As I have often said in the past, I intend to do that if I can at all get my hands on sufficient finance to do so. That still obtains. I hope I will be able to say something further on that matter within the next few weeks.
Will the Minister take another look at the forestry section of the package under which 15 years of headage payments will be paid where part of a farm is provided for forestry? Would he perhaps consider extending that to 25 years because of the long term nature of forestry? Could he give some indication of what breeds of horses will qualify for aid under this scheme?
On the afforestation question, I think a 15 year period is generous enough. I am not going to mislead the Deputy by telling him that it may be extended. This is a final package which took 15 months to work out. It will be quite a considerable length of time before any changes are made. As regards the Deputy's query about which breeds of horses will qualify, I do not know, but I think jackasses and ewes will qualify as well as horses.
(Limerick West): Will the Minister give the House a commitment that he will be prepared to implement those parts of the structures pertaining to young farmers? He mentioned that the implementation of that aspect of the structures would be conditional on young farmers qualifying. Now that ACOT have embarked on a fundamental and wide ranging scheme it would be a pity if the structures proposed by the Minister did not include those aspects relating to young farmers.
That is my intention. I want to point out specifically that this item, referring to young farmers, is included in the financial package and was done on my insistence. We got support from one of two other countries but it was done on our insistence that young farmers should get special aid. We were opposed by a number of countries, including some of the larger ones, for a long time. It was a compromise solution at the end of the day but it was on our insistence that this was included.
(Limerick West): The Minister referred to simple accounts. What is the definition of simple accounts?
That is a difficult question to answer, as it is rather hypothetical. The technical people in my Department would be able to give a definition. I imagine that they will have as simplified a system of accounts as can be justified.
(Limerick West): I appreciate the efforts being made by the Minister in having these structures brought to fruition. Before the regulations are drawn up by his Department would the Minister be prepared to consult with all the interested bodies?
Yes.