Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 March 2004
131 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the compensatory payment that will be made to a dairy farmer producing milk on a 32,000 gallon quota under the Fischler proposals; the length of time those payments will last; the likely deductions; if a farmer will be eligible for such payments if they sell their quota and cease milk production in the milk year 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8739/04]
View answerThe dairy premium for 2004 will be approximately 1.22 cent per litre. As the total compensation available is based on Ireland's quota for 1999/2000, the premium will be payable on approximately 97% of each producer's milk quota available on his/her holding on 31 March 2004. Accordingly, the premium on a 32,000 gallon quota will amount to approximately €1,722.
In 2005, the single farm payment will replace the dairy premium and all other direct payment schemes and the producer's single farm payment will include payment based on the milk quota available on the holding on 31 March 2005. The gross amount will be 2.44 cent per litre which, when calculated as above, amounts to approximately €3,444 in respect of a 32,000 gallon quota. From 2006, the gross payment will be 3.66 cent per litre, amounting to approximately €5,165. As the dairy premium will be decoupled in 2005, the reference date for that payment will be 31 March 2005 for the duration of the single farm payment scheme.
The single farm payment will be subject to reductions in respect of modulation at 3% in 2005, 4% in 2006 and 5% in subsequent years and linear reductions in respect of the hardship reserve and the national reserve. The percentage reductions for the hardship reserve and national reserve are not yet known. The amount deducted in respect of modulation on the first €5,000 of the single farm payment in each year will be refunded to the producer. Therefore, if the dairy producer with 32,000 gallons received no other direct payments in the 2000-2002 reference period, his/her single farm payment would not exceed the €5,000 threshold so, in effect, no modulation reduction would take place. The linear reductions for the hardship reserve and national reserve will, however, apply.
The dairy premium will be paid in 2004 as a coupled payment and the single farm payment scheme of which the decoupled dairy premium forms part has been put in place for the period from 2005 to 2012. In order to be eligible for the decoupled dairy premium in 2005 and subsequent years, a producer must be a quota holder on 31 March 2005 and have made milk deliveries in the 2004-05 milk quota year. He/she will continue to be eligible for the premium if the quota is sold after 31 March 2005. However, in that situation a farmer would still be required to comply with certain conditions to continue to retain eligibility for the single farm payment.
132 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the entitlement under the Fischler proposals due to a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8740/04]
View answerThe single payment will 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 or 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 calculated by dividing this single payment amount by the average number of hectares 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. In general, farmers must also have an eligible hectare of land for each payment entitlement. The European Council regulation provides for various deductions from entitlements to cater for any overshoot of the national ceiling for Ireland, setting up of a national reserve and for modulation.
While the European Commission detailed rules regulation on decoupling has not yet been finalised, my Department has commenced the work of establishing entitlements for every farmer in the country. Work is ongoing on the processing of force majeure applications and this could impinge on the national ceiling. My Department intends to establish provisional single payment entitlements for each farmer and notify those entitlements to individual farmers later in 2004, with definitive details to issue early in 2005. It will not be possible, however, to finalise this work until such time as the Commission detailed rules are fully agreed which will be towards the end of this month or in early April and all force majeure applications are fully processed. Therefore, it is not possible at this stage to indicate what the definitive entitlements will be for the person named or, indeed, for any farmer.
