Patrick J. Morley
Question:13 Mr. Morley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry whether the revised REPS regulations defer full compliance until year three of the scheme. [13804/96]
Written Answers. - Rural Environmental Protection Scheme.
M. J. Nolan
Question:28 Mr. Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the impact, if any, on sustainable development of his relaxation in the REPS specifications. [13806/96]
Donal Moynihan
Question:37 Mr. Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if his attention has been drawn to the fact that changes in the specifications of the REPS make its requirements, in instances, less onerous than standards currently operated by many local authorities. [13805/96]
Máirín Quill
Question:38 Miss Quill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the measures, if any, he proposes to adopt to minimise the risk of pollution to our rivers and lakes by farming activities; if he will ensure that the control of farmyard pollution scheme and the rural environmental protection scheme will continue to be used to prevent fish kills; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13778/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 13, 28, 37 and 38 together.
My Department has recently revised the agri-environmental specifications which are the framework within which plans under the rural environment protection scheme (REPS) are drawn up by professional planners approved by the Department. Such plans must set out the works to be carried out annually to comply with REPS measures. Farmers who fail to comply with their commitments run the risk of obtaining reduced payments or face disqualification from the scheme.
The specifications were revised to amplify and clarify certain aspects of the scheme and to give practical effect to modifications to the scheme which had been approved by the European Commission in late 1995.
One of the more significant changes to the specification from a farmer's perspective is that it recognises the reality that much work and many payments under the control of farm pollution scheme (CFP) will not be completed until 1998. Indeed some work of this nature will have to be completed without any grant aid. The specifications in this regard have, essentially, been modified to give effect to a three year derogation approved by the European Commission for carrying out specified pollution control works. Previously, REPS participants were required to have all pollution control works completed by the end of the first year of the REPS plan. The three year derogation was sought by my Department to facilitate an orderly completion of construction works. The one year time limit was making this impossible to achieve and furthermore some of the proposed work would not be grant aided because it was regrettably necessary to curtail the CFP scheme.
As I am sure Deputies are aware, REPS places a major emphasis on good waste management practices. To this end the revised specifications place a requirement on professional planners to inform participant farmers of their statutory obligationsvis-á-vis pollution control, as enforced by local authorities and fisheries boards. In drawing up REPS plans these professional planners must be satisfied that pollution can be avoided through careful use and good management of existing facilities. Furthermore, REPS partipicant farmers must follow a strict waste management code which requires them to landspread half the waste produced on the farm by 1 July each year and the remainder by 30 September each year. Additionally strict landspreading precautions must be complied with in disposing of farm wastes on REPS farms.
A specific objective under the CFP scheme is the reduction of ground and surface water pollution with a view to improving water quality and the natural aquatic environment. The scheme was drafted and is implemented with this specific objective in mind.
I assure Deputies that my Department, through REPS and indeed other pollution control schemes such as CFP, seeks to achieve the same objectives as local authorities in the area of pollution control i.e. to avoid pollution and to bring about an improved water quality in our rivers and lakes. To this end I am satisfied that the revised REPS specifications, when applied at farm level, will provide for a level of pollution control which is very much in line with the standards required by local authorities. Furthermore, I take this opportunity to assure the Deputies that the basic principle of sustainability which underpins REPS has not been underlined in any way as a result of this revision.
Eric J. Byrne
Question:14 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the random post-primary checks, if any, that have been carried out by his Department with regard to works carried out under the REPS, if he has satisfied himself with the monitoring of this scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13785/96]
A system of compliance checks and penalties is in place for all participants in the rural environmental protection scheme. At present all cases are being checked. In cases where a participant has not carried out specific work during the first year in the scheme, penalties ranging from 10 per cent to 100 per cent of payment are imposed, depending on the importance of the measure in the scheme. In cases where a 100 per cent penalty is imposed the participant is excluded from the scheme and a refund of all of any aid paid may be sought.
I am satisfied that these controls, coupled with existing spot checks carried out by my Department, will ensure that REPS is implemented in the true spirit of the scheme.
The best interests of the Irish farmers and the enhancement of the agri-environment can be served only by operating effective control and monitoring arrangements. I stress the REPS participants who farm in accordance with the specifications of the scheme have nothing to fear from the control measures outlined.