This motion calls on the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry to have the Suck Valley catchment area included in the new EU category of extremely disadvantaged areas. With the permission of the Chair, I wish to share time with Senator Mullooly.
Adjournment Matters. - Suck Valley Catchment Area.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I raised this issue as a result of a recent meeting between representatives of the Suck Action Committee and Senator Mullooly and myself. The River Suck runs between Counties Roscommon and Galway and the committee outlined a strong case to have its catchment area included in the new EU category for extremely disadvantaged areas. Information on when this category will come on stream, when grants will be paid and the amount of such grants remains vague. Senator Mullooly and I wish to establish whether the Suck Valley catchment area was included in the application to Brussels in respect of this category. Will the Minister of State inform the House about the areas that were included, the date of the application and whether the Suck Valley catchment area was included?
In the region of 2,000 individuals are involved in farming in the Suck Valley catchment area which covers approximately 600 square miles. The river's 84 mile watercourse is bordered by 75,000 acres of land. This area is subject to regular flooding which causes great hardship to farmers, mainly dry stock owners, who are in the lower income bracket. We must also take into consideration the severe decrease in population in this area during the past number of years. This is consequential on the fact that low incomes made young people reluctant to assume responsibility for farms or remain in farming and they moved to cities and towns in the hope of making a better living.
If we are to protect and enhance the Suck Valley catchment area, comply with the jargon constantly emanating from Europe and the Government and support rural and regional development, this is a very practical and proper way to do so. People make a meagre living from farming in the Suck Valley catchment area and we believe they are entitled to be included in the category of extremely disadvantaged areas.
Unlike some other areas, alternative farming practices and enterprises are not easily operated in the Suck Valley catchment area due to flooding. For example, tourism opportunities might exist in other areas where holdings are small and land is poor. However, those opportunities are severely diminished in the Suck Valley catchment area because of severe and unpredictable flooding which can last for up to six months. The entire area can be left desolate as a result and it is practically impossible for farmers to plan farming practices and operations or make a decent living.
Further opportunities exist in other areas in respect of forestry. This is unsuitable to the larger part of the Suck Valley catchment area because of severe flooding which can sometimes reach a depth of five feet. Areas between Ballinasloe and Castlerea are subject to severe flooding on many occasions during the year. The records of local authorities in Counties Roscommon and Galway will show that severe flooding occurs each year in areas surrounding Ballyforan, Athleague, Castlestrange, Castlecoot, Donamon and Castlerea. Two years ago, flooding was so severe in these areas that many villages were cut off for up to two months.
In making the case on behalf of people living in the Suck Valley catchment area I believe the necessary requirements to be included in the new EU category are present. I cannot think of another area that would be more suitable or entitled to be included in that category. The decline in population on the Roscommon and Galway banks of the River Suck must be halted. Senator Mullooly and I are more familiar with the situation in County Roscommon; two to three families live in many villages which were occupied by 30 to 40 families at the turn of the century.
As far as I am concerned, there is a good case for inclusion. I ask the Minister of State to inform the House whether the Suck Valley catchment area was included Department's application to the European Commission for inclusion in the category of extremely disadvantaged areas? How many areas were included in that application? When will a decision be made and what steps are necessary to enhance the case of those living in the Suck Valley catchment area for inclusion in the new EU category?
I thank Senator Finneran for sharing time and I support the strong case he made for inclusion of the Suck Valley catchment area in the new category of extremely disadvantaged areas.
The Suck Valley catchment area is occupied by small farmers on low incomes. The land is marginal and many of the farms are fragmented. The difficulties of local farmers are exacerbated by the severe flooding that happens regularly. This affects almost every farmer in the Suck Valley to a greater or lesser degree. I understand that at certain times approximately 100,000 acres — 40,000 hectares — can be affected by flooding. That is a huge area by any standards. Up to 66 per cent of some farm areas are liable to flooding. The farmers are hard working and industrious but it is impossible to operate a long-term farm plan because of the uncertainty with regard to flooding. It must also be recognised that much of the land subject to flooding is, as Senator Finneran stated, unsuitable for alternative activities such as forestry. This land is only suitable for rough grazing of livestock.
The Suck Valley is an area of declining population because young people are reluctant to face an uncertain future on small, fragmented, marginal farms. I understand that the Suck Valley Action Group has had a number of meetings with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry in respect of its application to have the area designated as extremely disadvantaged. It put forward a strong case which it supported with a large volume of documentation that included statistics, maps and engineering data on the extent and cause of flooding.
Consideration should be given to including this area in the new category. Farmers in this area have endured severe hardship and low income for years. The next generation will not do that and there is now an opportunity to improve their situation by granting them the designation for which they have applied. The Minister should ensure that happens. As Senator Finneran said, I can think of no other region with a better claim to being designated as extremely disadvantaged.
I wish to acknowledge the presence in the Visitors Gallery of the former member of the British Parliament, Sir Gerry Neale. He is very welcome to Ireland.
My officials are very familiar with the conditions in the Suck Valley catchment area. These disadvantages will be taken into account when the decision on the third tier is made. The third tier of "extremely" disadvantaged areas was envisaged as applying to areas, primarily in the west, in which the land is so poor as to be almost unusable. Generally, this category would apply to mountainous or peatland areas and to inhabited islands which have the additional disadvantage of isolation.
I have, together with officials of my Department, spent some time considering how best to identify the areas which would be most suitable for classification in this category. There was a need to establish the uniqueness of the areas in order to convince the EU Commission of the special needs of farmers in these areas. The criteria established to facilitate selection of areas were as follows: the areas must be already more severely handicapped, and should not extend beyond the boundary of the original MSH designation of 1975; there must be a high proportion of "rough grazing" land in the areas; the areas must be subject to extreme climatic conditions; and to ensure homogeneity of physical characteristics and farming types, areas must be at least 20,000 hectares in extent. All areas in respect of which applications were received for inclusion in this new disadvantaged area category were considered in light of the above criteria when the submission was being prepared.
The extremely disadvantaged areas proposal was submitted to the EU Commission in October 1996. I have been informed that the proposal is being considered by the Commission in conjunction with an overall package of proposed amendments to the scheme of compensatory allowances arising out of the independent evaluation of this scheme. Consequently, it would be difficult to predict when the new areas will be approved. However, since payments in the new category areas will be additional to those already received based on 1997 scheme applications, there will be no need for a separate application from farmers whose areas are reclassified.
Since the proposals have not yet been approved, I cannot comment on whether any specific area is included in the areas submitted. However, the merits of all potential areas were rigorously examined to ensure that the most deserving areas which satisfied the criteria were selected.
The Seanad adjourned at 4.05 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 19 February 1997.