Vol. 452 No. 8
39 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will introduce, on a national basis, the concept of an individual base area for cereal growers in view of the fact that the EU has not reached agreement on the introduction of individual base areas and the removal of eligible land rules under Article 9. [7220/95]
211 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the progress, if any, which has been made in seeking the removal of Article 9 and the introduction of an individual base area for grain growers. [7221/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 39 and 211 together. My objective is to maximise efficient production of cereals so that the market price for grain here is not unduly influenced by the price of imported cereals. I regard the eligible land rule as an obstacle in that regard and my immediate priority is to obtain a modification which, at least, will allow the rule to be applied more flexibly. I am actively pursuing this matter with the EU Commission and I have already made a detailed written submission on the subject to Commissioner Fischler.
I am also seeking a number of changes to the existing provisions on individual base areas (IBAs) so that, if it is necessary to operate such a system, we can do so in a practical and equitable manner. The existing provisions relating to IBAs in EU legislation are not satisfactory. They do not cater for hardship cases, such as farmers who temporarily ceased production during the qualifying base years, nor do they make any provisions for allocation of base area rights for new entrants.
