Vol. 401 No. 4
114 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will outline the details of the EC scheme under which annual premiums per hectare can be paid in environmentally sensitive areas to farmers who introduce and maintain farming methods which protect the environment; the number of payments which have been made or approved under these schemes; and the total cost to the Exchequer of schemes approved or paid to date in 1990.
Regulation (EEC) No. 797/85 permits member states to introduce schemes under which annual premiums may be paid to farmers who undertake to introduce or maintain, for at least five years, farming practices compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and of natural resources or with the requirements of the maintenance of the landscape and the countryside.
An amendment to the Regulation in 1987 allows for an EC contribution towards the cost of these schemes. The rate of annual premium depends on the type of work which needs to be carried out but the amount to which the EC contribution relates cannot exceed approximately £120 per hectare.
These environmentally sensitive areas schemes are optional for the member states. As part of the Government's environmental action programme, a provision of £100,000 has been made in the 1990 Estimates to introduce these schemes in Ireland. An inter-departmental committee has been set up to recommend areas suitable for designation as environmentally sensitive and will be reporting to me as soon as possible.
