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Commonage Division

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 November 2012

Tuesday, 6 November 2012

Questions (129)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Question:

129. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide the details of proposals in relation to the stocking of commonages; the level of consultation he has had in relation to this issue with farmers in the regions affected; if he intends to organise public meetings that he will attend, similar to those he organised recently in relation to the reform of the common agricultural policy, to discuss this issue directly with farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48258/12]

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Written answers

The Department is proposing to introduce measures under the provisions of Article 6 of Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 for the maintenance of certain lands, including commonages declared under the Single Payment Scheme (SPS), the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme, REPS, AEOS and the Grassland Sheep Scheme. As part of this process the Commonage Framework Plans, first published in 2002, have been reviewed in co-operation with the National Parks and Wildlife Service to take account of the current vegetative condition of commonages nationally. This review which replaces the Commonage Framework Plans has been carried out on a commonage LPIS parcel basis and sets a minimum and maximum number of ewe equivalents (EE) required to graze the commonage parcel to ensure that it is maintained in Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC)

The overall numbers required for each commonage LPIS parcel are apportioned to all claimants on a commonage based on the area of the commonage they claimed on their 2012 SPS application. This information is available on the Department’s website. The area of commonage claimed by an applicant on their SPS application does not amend or adjust the actual share of the commonage owned by them.

Maintaining commonage land in GAEC is vital to protect against areas being deemed ineligible under the Single Payment Scheme, other Direct Aid Schemes and consequential imposition of sanctions under Cross Compliance/GAEC provisions. All shareholders have a role to play in making sure that penalties are avoided and a collective approach to grazing the commonage minimises the risk of this happening. The Department is proposing, therefore, that scheme claimants will be required to submit details to Department in writing, of the number of ewe equivalents each will graze on the commonage to achieve the required grazing number across the whole commonage parcel. The collective agreement will allow flexibility for claimants to increase sheep numbers up to at least the minimum while not exceeding the maximum allowed.

The Department has been in on-going discussion for some time with the farming organisations in relation to the proposed changes. Further meetings are underway this week. Arrangements for the implementation of the proposals will be announced when final decisions have been made.

Question No. 130 answered Question No. 114.
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