Vol. 498 No. 5
12 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will suspend the operation of measure 5 of the REP scheme, at least until the proposed wildlife Bill has been passed by Dáil Éireann, in view of the overwhelming threat to species diversity, habitat and landscape quality contained in this measure as currently formulated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24462/98]
20 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the proposals, if any, he has to amend measure 5 of the REP scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27349/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 20 together.
Measure 5 of the REP scheme and agri-environmental specifications set out the objectives to be achieved with regard to hedgerows. Among the objectives is the management of hedgerows on a phased basis to encourage their development with a diversity of height, stages of growth and form in the interests of wildlife, stock control and scenic appearance. The specifications set out recommendations on the management of hedgerows for healthy growth and good quality, including those that require rejuvenation. A management option is to leave quality hedgerows in place with maintenance confined to the control of invasive species, inplanting and stockproofing.
To make the specifications more explicit measure 5 is being reviewed. I will issue the revised specifications shortly. I am confident they will address the concerns which have been voiced about the implementation of the measure. Pending the issue of the revised specifications my Department has issued a circular to all approved REPS planners advising them of the revision to measure 5 and, pending its distribution, requesting them to bear in mind that quality mature hedgerows should be retained in their entirety with maintenance confined to inplantings, the control of invasive species and stockproofing when preparing or reviewing REPS plans.
I am encouraged by the Minister of State's reply. Is he aware that the current practice results in the killing of established whitethorn and other common hedgerow trees? Has the Department calculated the mileage of hedgerows exposed to measure 5? How many hedgerows have been dug up, rooted out or flailed under the current scheme? Will the Minister of State commission an environmental impact study of the effect of measure 5? Is this part of the review?
There are 5,600 square metres of hedgerows per farm in excess of 40 hectares. There has to be some cutting of hedgerows to protect county roads in particular which are subject to water damage. Many complaints have been received that the wing mirrors of school buses and creamery lorries have been broken by over-hanging branches. One has to use one's common-sense. The planner devises an annual programme indicating the location of hedgerows and the length in metres and specifying the precise maintenance works required. Measure 5 specifies the machinery to be used.
Will the changes to measure 5 take effect immediately or will they be introduced on a phased basis next year? Change is needed. I cannot argue with the Minister of State that one has to be sensible about the cutting of hedgerows along roadways but it is necessary to avoid a situation where in townland after townland they look like box hedges. They should appear natural.
I agree with the Deputy. Much of it is like the dinky toy matchbox system, it looks tidy and neat but it does not ensure healthy growth. The changes to measure 5 will take effect at the commencement of annual plans. The intention is to allow trees to grow and to be trimmed at the sides to provide stockproofing.
I am delighted Deputy Connaughten shares my view. In Northern Ireland measure 5 is interpreted differently. Is the Minister of State aware that there is a hedgerow management project in County Leitrim by Crann which has proved successful? This is a model we could pursue. Is the Minister of State aware that the songbird population is diminishing? This is a source of much concern. I thought the purpose of REPS was to protect the environment——
A question, please.
When will the review be complete?
A circular was issued to approved REPS planners on 2 December. The specifications will contain a detailed annex in which suitable native hedgerows will be identified emphasising their characteristics and suitability for certain sites. It will also deal with maintenance. For example, my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture and Food would be extremely concerned that the image of west Cork would be damaged if fuchsia were removed from the ditches there.
I welcome the fact that the Minister is reviewing the REP scheme. I am aware of a number of farmers in County Galway who have been penalised under the current conditions of the scheme. In one case a farmer suffered a penalty of 25 per cent because he did not cut back a hedgerow. When the review is carried out, will the Minister investigate the cases of these farmers? They are working with their planners and it is unfair that they are being penalised because they did not cut back hedgerows. Will these cases be looked at when the review has been completed?
Planners should make clear to a farmer how hedgerows are to be cut. If a plan is accepted by the Department of Agriculture and Food such a situation should not arise.
Deputy Gormley referred to whole ditches being removed. Anyone who does such a thing is not entitled to participate in the REP scheme and is obliged to repay any money received.
Mechanical diggers have destroyed hedgerows and ditches.
Mechanical diggers are not used by farmers in the REP scheme. Mechanical diggers are used for digging up drains.
I have seen diggers being used to do such work.
Those are not diggers. They are hedge-cutters or strimmers. I do not wish to give a FÁS training course to Deputy Gormley but those machines are called hedge-cutters, trimmers and skimmers.
A bulldozer does not have a sharp edge.
It would be funny to see one running along the top of a hedge. One would not have much hedge left if one tried it.
Is the Minister saying these machines are never used.
None of us wants to see hedgerows growing out into the middle of fields or boreens. Has the Minister consulted the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands about this issue. I understand the EU is distinctly unhappy about the manner in which we are treating wildlife habitats and hedgerows in particular. Is it true that we do not have an independent body to examine the impact on wildlife of the destruction of habitats?
I am not aware that the EU is unhappy with our performance in protecting habitats. Our progress in the conservation of habitats has been enormous. We have all seen the improvements that have been made. Like Deputy Connaughton I am a participant in the REP scheme and I am aware of the natural wildlife that has returned to my area as a result of it. The issue of hedgerow conservation is being considered by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands and the development of a national bio-diversity plan is being considered in the context of the amendment of the Wildlife Act, 1976. It is anticipated that the Bill will be published in the next Oireachtas session. There will be cross-compliance between two organisations who will examine the question in the overall scheme of things. The Bill will be extremely useful and will enhance the green image of the country and help greatly in selling our agricultural produce abroad.
Would the Minister accept that the policies of local authorities have done much damage to hedgerows?
The Deputy may be joining us on a local authority soon?
The imposition by local authorities of the strict rules which are applied to farmers in the REP scheme would go a long way to protecting the hedgerows. Does the Minister know how many farmers have been removed from the REP scheme because of non-compliance with measure 5? How many farmers are in the REP scheme at the moment?
There are 39,000 farmers in the REP scheme. We hope there will be 43,000 this year. The scheme caused some difficulties in counties Wicklow and Mayo where many farmers were not clear about the depopulation of herds on mountainsides where commonages were involved. We expect the uptake of the scheme to increase because of the special areas of conservation scheme. We hope participation in REPS will increase in these areas because they are the areas which have most need of it for the protection of land and the prevention of soil erosion. Deputy Moynihan asked if many farmers have been removed from the scheme. Anyone who leaves the scheme or does not comply with the regulations within three years must repay the grant received. The work of some planners has had to be examined. One planner submitted a plan which was clearly drawn up at a kitchen table. The planner had not looked at the land and the ditches on his map had been removed in 1982. That planner did not take his sandals off and put a pair of wellingtons on to go to look at the land. We will also do a review of the standards of planners. The panel of planners is continually updated. The scheme is very strictly administered. I believe it is a great scheme and is of benefit of farmers.
If I can give the Minister evidence of diggers being used to do the work we have described will he withdraw his remarks? I can give him that evidence.
Diggers have nothing to do with hedges except to remove them completely.
I have evidence that diggers were brought in for that purpose.
If a participant in the REP scheme removes a ditch with a digger or by some other means, that person will be automatically disqualified from the scheme. If he has been in the scheme for less than three years he will be obliged to repay the grant he received.
If he is found out.
13 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if Ireland is the only country in the EU to limit the payment of the REP scheme to 100 acres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27869/98]
I have been informed by the European Commission that most member states impose an upper limit on the acreage of land which is eligible for payment under agri-environ-mental schemes and this limit is generally the equivalent of 100 acres. This is the limit for payment of basic REPS. However, under the revised REP scheme, farmers with lands in natural heritage areas and commonages can receive payments up to a maximum of 300 acres. There are no plans at present to change these limits.
In the course of the review, will the Minister consider permitting an increase in the maximum level? I ask this question out of concern for the income situation of dry stock farmers in the midlands and the west. How does our maximum level compare with those of other EU countries? My information is that our permitted maximum places us at the lower end of that spectrum. Will the Minister, in the course of the review, ensure that some of the harshest and most stringent conditions which attach to the REP scheme are modified as they have been in the farm retirement scheme?
The limit of 100 acres is about the same as that of other countries. The limit can be as low as 50 acres or as high as 300 in natural heritage areas and commonages. That is important because the aid is being targeted at farmers with the lowest incomes. There has been a huge increase in payment this year. It is now up to £175,000, not including special areas of conservation. When they are included the figure will rise to £240 million. The amount of money being spent on the scheme is huge. The grant is £50 per acre which brings in an income of £5,000 per year. Many farmers do the work in the first year so that the money is easily earned after that time. The scheme is bringing wildlife back to the country-side and enhances our image as an agricultural nation. The scheme shows small farmers the way towards quality rather than quantity.
Is Ireland comparable to other countries in the uptake of the REP scheme? How does the Minister see the scheme continuing post Agenda 2000? Will the Minister of State agree certain isolated areas need special support in preparing REPS plans and REPS planners should encourage farmers in those areas to participate in this scheme?
I agree with Deputy Keaveney that the uptake of this scheme here is reasonably comparable to the uptake of such schemes in other countries. We would like many more farmers to participate in it. It was estimated that 43,000 farmers would participate in the scheme this year, but only 39,000 did so. While that represents a major improvement, it is still not good enough.
We have trained planners to review commonage areas. Since last August they have been specifically trained to encourage farmers to participate in the scheme to ensure more benefits are given to the poorer sections of the farming community. There are approximately 8,000 commonages in the country. This will mainly affect areas of Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Galway and Kerry. The payment will be £100 for the first 100 acres, £8 for between 101 and 200 acres and £6 for between 201 and 300 acres. This will mean an increase from £4,960 to £6,400 in the annual payment to existing REPS farmers. That is a significant increase in the annual payment, which should encourage farmers to participate in this scheme. The emphasis is on quality.
The Minister should also point out the other side of story in the case of commonages. There has been a depopulation of the flocks involved. While farmers are getting this payment, they are also suffering a great loss. It is important to put that in context.
That is true.
The Minister might not have figures for REPS payments for the next few years, but can he assure farmers that those payments will be paid out? It is essential that they are.
On the existing REP scheme which extends for five years, the Minister and I are confident it will continue into the future. Commissioner Fischler is interested in it. There is growing concern not only here but throughout other European communities about the need to conserve lands, given the pollution that has taken place in Holland, the north of France, Belgium and other countries where land has been destroyed because of over-farming.
Deputy Connaughton mentioned the new plans for the SAC areas, the NHAs, that is guaranteed for 15 years. It is worth noting that once an inspection of a farm is made and approval has been granted REPS payments are the quickest to be issued.
