Michael Ring
Question:111 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if a person (details supplied) in County Mayo has been approved and accepted as a member of the REP scheme. [25383/98]
Written Answers - Rural Environment Protection Scheme.
Michael Ring
Question:112 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be paid under the REP scheme; and if his application into the REP scheme has been approved and accepted. [25384/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 111 and 112 together.
This person's application includes commonage land. The revised REP scheme requires that a framework plan be drawn up for each commonage under the supervision of my Department and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands. It will take some time before framework plans will be available for all commonages.
In the meantime, as I announced recently, interim arrangements have been agreed between my Department and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands to put a national commonage framework plan in place pending the completion of individual commonage framework plans. This means that the farmers concerned who are already in REPS or who join, on the basis of the national framework plan, can avail of the higher rates of compensation of £80 per acre for the first 100 acres with additional payments for the next 200 acres. Plans prepared under the national framework plan will be reviewed when the individual commonage framework plans are available.
It has been necessary to revise the scheme document and the agri—environmental specifications to take account of the new measure. This, along with application forms, will be available from my Department's farm development services offices shortly.