Denis Naughten
Question:80 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food his proposals for the implementation of the CAP reform programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29107/03]
Written Answers. - Common Agricultural Policy.
As the Deputy is aware I have already decided that all direct payments for cattle, sheep, dairying and arable crops will be fully decoupled from production as and from 1 January 2005. I made my decision on full decoupling well ahead of the effective date of 1 January 2005 to enable farmers and the markets to adjust and to plan ahead.
While the European Commission's detailed rules on decoupling have not yet been published my Department has commenced the work of establishing entitlements for every individual farmer in the country. In this context, my Department has set up a steering group to oversee the overall implementation of the mid-term review agreement. It has also set up working groups to examine the various aspects of the agreement and the IT and other resources to implement it. My Department intends to establish single payment entitlements for each farmer and notify those entitlements to individual farmers during 2004. It will not be possible however to finalise this work until such time as the Commission's detailed rules are fully agreed. It should be noted that while the Council regulation governing the single payment scheme has now been published, the Commission detailed rules regulation is unlikely to be published until near Christmas. Negotiations on the detailed rules regulation will then get under way at official level and it is unlikely that final agreement will be reached before April 2004.
In the meantime, my Department is setting up a unit to deal withforce majeure or hardship cases. The single payment will be based on the average number of animals, or average number of hectares in the case of arable aid, determined under the livestock premia and arable aid schemes in respect of the three reference years 2000, 2001 and 2002. However, the Council regulation provides that a farmer whose production was adversely affected during the reference period by a case of force majeure or exceptional circumstances occurring before or during the reference period shall be entitled to request that the reference amount be calculated on the basis of the calendar year or years in the reference period not affected by the case of force majeure or exceptional circumstances.
If the whole of the reference period was affected by the case offorce majeure or exceptional circumstances the reference amount shall be calculated on the basis of the 1997 to 1999 period.
My Department will shortly publish an advertisement in the national and provincial press inviting farmers who feel that during the reference period his or her farming enterprise was adversely affected byforce majeure to apply to my Department to have his-her case considered. Application forms to facilitate the processing of such cases will be available at all local offices of my Department. Where a farmer who applies for force majeure is not satisfied with my Department's decision on his or her application there will be a facility to allow such farmers to have his-her case determined by an independent appeals mechanism.