With effect from 2005, the decoupled payment, which is to be known as the single payment scheme, is to be based on the average number of animals or the average number of hectares, in the case of arable aid, on which payments were made under the livestock premia and arable aid schemes in respect of the three reference years 2000, 2001 and 2002. The single payment is calculated by taking the three yearly average number of animals and arable hectares which attracted payment and multiplying them by the payment rate for 2002 in respect of livestock or by €383.04 per hectare in the case of arable aid. Entitlements are established by dividing this single payment amount by the average number of hectares declared on the area aid applications over the three-year period. Farmers for whom entitlements have been established must activate those entitlements in 2005 by continuing to farm and submitting an area aid declaration in that year.
Under the European Council regulation, farmers must have an eligible hectare in respect of each payment entitlement. There is no provision in the Council regulation to provide special treatment to farmers in the circumstances described by the Deputy. While the criteria for allocating entitlements from the national reserve is not yet available, the regulation specifies that new entrants to farming who commenced their farming activity after 31 December 2002 will have priority access. Other groups to whom allocations from the reserve can be made will be specified in the European Commission's detailed rules regulation, which is not expected to be published for some weeks.
