Vol. 410 No. 4
1 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will outline his proposals, if any, to upgrade areas which are classified at present as moderately disadvantaged for cattle headage payments to severely disadvantaged; and if he has any plans to upgrade areas which are classified at present as disadvantaged for sheep headage payments only.
The details of proposed reclassifications being discussed now with the EC Commission are confidential between Ireland and the Commission at present.
I can disclose, however, that we are proposing the reclassification of 114,000 hectares of mountain sheep grazing land as less severely handicapped and 530,000 hectares of less severely handicapped areas as more severely handicapped. These proposals will increase the extent of the more severely handicapped areas by 15 per cent and the benefits available to farmers in the areas affected by over £10 million per year.
Could the Minister give me an indication of the percentage of the total that these figures represent? Will the reclassification of the 114,000 hectares of mountain sheep grazing lands which the Minister referred to cover all the sheep grazing land in the country? If not, what percentage is it of the total area? Likewise, will all the less severely handicapped areas be reclassified?
The Deputy will be aware that my priority is to get the maximum benefit from the extension and reclassification of areas. I can confirm to the Deputy that all the mountain sheep grazing land which previously only qualified for certain grants for sheep headage has been proposed for reclassification as less severely handicapped and will get all the benefits that apply to less severely handicapped areas. The Deputy will see that the proposal to reclassify less severely handicapped areas as more severely handicapped areas will have a very considerable impact and will increase the extent of the more severely handicapped areas by 15 per cent and will have the consequences I have just mentioned.
