Vol. 485 No. 4
36 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if farmers in special areas of conservation have to be participants in the REP scheme to qualify for headage payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23339/97]
Under the terms of an agreement reached with the farm bodies in February this year, farmers with a share of commonage in lands classified as overgrazed, including such commonages in areas designated as special areas of conservation, must farm in accordance with an approved agri-environmental plan to qualify for ewe premium rural world premium and sheep headage payments. Farmers will have the option of participating in either a REP scheme operated by my Department or a national scheme operated by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands.
The application of this requirement in 1998 will proceed only on the satisfactory outcome of discussions on proposals regarding the revision of REPS which have been put to the European Commission by my Department and which are currently under discussion.
