Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 May 2004
144 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if the 50% rule agreed at EU level which entitles a farmer to retain 100% of his decoupled payment with 50% of the landholding will be implemented by the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12448/04]
View answerThe requirement under the new single payment scheme that individual farmers need to have 100% of the average land area that they had during the reference period would have resulted in serious problems for those Irish farmers who, for specific reasons, declare less lands in 2005 or subsequent years, than the average area of land that they farmed during the reference period. Ireland secured a concession from the EU Commission whereby a member state may make use of its national reserve to consolidate payment entitlements for certain categories of farmers on the actual number of hectares of land farmed in 2005, provided that the farmer declares all the hectares available to him or her in 2005 and the total area declared is equal to at least 50% of the average number of hectares declared during the reference period. My Department is making arrangements to have the mechanisms in place in 2005 so that farmers may avail of the concession. The provisions can be applied to farmers who have afforested some of their land since the beginning of the reference period; farmers who have disposed of land to a public authority for non-agricultural use; farmers who had leased or rented land during the reference period but the lease or rental agreement has since expired; and farmers who declared lands situated in Northern Ireland during the reference period.
The concession can be availed of more than once if the farmer concerned continues to declare at least 50% of the land area farmed during the reference period. It would benefit those farmers who are contemplating afforestation in 2005 or subsequent years. If a farmer benefits from the concession, his consolidated payment entitlements will be regarded as having come from the national reserve. The entitlements concerned cannot be sold or leased for five years and the farmer must use all his entitlements himself each year for a period of five years. Any entitlements not used will revert to the national reserve. The provisions relating to land availability cannot be applied to any farmer who disposed of land by way of sale or lease other than the sale of land to a public authority for non-agricultural use.
