Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 February 2014
88. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the steps he has taken to assist farmers and fishermen who have suffered serious loss during the recent inclement weather; the assistance sought from the EU to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6499/14]
View answerI know the Minister came to Galway on a surprise visit on Friday. I hope he saw all the damage that has been caused to farmers' lands all over the place. They have lost land and other land has been destroyed from a fodder point of view. Fences and walls have been knocked. Furthermore, slips and piers have been damaged and some fishermen have lost boats. Many fishermen have lost lobster pots. People want to know what the Minister is going to do about this, what help he will give farmers and how the situation might play out in respect of the 2014 applications under the single farm payment.
I got a chance to visit Galway and Clare last Friday. It was a useful visit and I met many people over several hours. A good deal of damage has been done. In the case of farmers and inspections, we have been very clear with our inspectors that they must be flexible and take account of the extreme weather that we have had in recent months in the course of their inspections and assessments, which they must make legally in the coming weeks.
In the case of land eligibility, if a farmer has had boulders come on to his land from the beach as a result of high tides and stormy conditions, then, obviously, that must be taken into account in a way that is understanding of the extreme weather.
Other areas of consideration include fodder and animal welfare. If any farmer has an animal welfare concern, he should call our animal welfare hotline and he will get help from us. Many farmers have full slurry storage tanks at the moment but have wet land as well and that is an issue. They should be talking to their Teagasc advisers about how they can and should manage that properly.
There is also an issue with piers and harbours.
There will be statements in the House tomorrow regarding the Government response to the storms and flooding problems we have had for a number of weeks. We have examined in detail piers and harbours along the south, south-west, west and north-west coast and the repair work that is necessary from a safety and infrastructure point of view. I will make a detailed statement on that tomorrow.
Many island fishermen have also lost gear. We are unable to put a financial package in place to replace boats under state aid rules but we may consider giving support for the replacement of pots, in particular, that have been lost at sea. BIM has tried to assess the losses and has reported to us in detail. I will also give more information on that tomorrow. We are trying to ensure as comprehensive a response as we can. Finding money in government is difficult for obvious reasons, but in an instance such as this where there are clear priorities around extreme events that need Government support, such support will be provided.
Inspections over the next three or four weeks are not an issue because they are covered by force majeure rules, regardless of whether the Minister agrees with that view. With regard to the 2014 applications for single farm payments, however, if land is lost to the sea or cannot be foraged because it is covered in boulders, will farmers have to adjust the acreage of their land accordingly? If fences and walls have been knocked down and have not been replaced, will farmers be penalised under both REPS and the single farm payment scheme?
I welcome the Minister's comments about fishermen's pots. Does he provide money for coastal protection other than in urban areas? Traditionally this was addressed by piers and slipways.
I suggested to his colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, that in regard to rebuilding fences and, in particular, stone walls, she should employ more people on the rural social scheme and provide money for materials to reinstate them because they would be impossible to reinstate for many farmers. Is the Minister willing to talk to her about that possibility?
I will mention that issue to her but that is a resource issue on which she will have to make a decision. Coastal protection generally is not under my remit. My portfolio covers the marine and I am responsible for seven fishery harbours. Most of them were not badly damaged. The majority of the projects on which we will work with local authorities are local authority owned and managed harbours, piers, slipways, ladders, docking facilities, breakwaters and so on. I will focus with local authorities in counties Clare and Galway, in particular, and other counties on assessing the cost of rebuilding essential infrastructure both for the fishing community, tourists, anglers and leisure users and for the rescue services in the case of some of the piers I visited. The local authorities will need to discuss the broader coastal issues relating to roads, causeways and bridges between islands, for example, in west Galway, with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.
I asked a number of specific questions that come under the Minister's remit. I did not ask about bridges and so on because they do not come under his remit. I asked questions about single farm payment applications. Will they have to be adjusted for May this year to account for loss of land or land that is no longer a forageable area because the strand or boulders are now on the land?
In the context of the 2014 part of REPS and single farm payments, what is the position for farmers whose enclosed land is not fully fenced off? I understand that fencing off is a qualification condition for both the single farm payment and the disadvantaged areas scheme, DAS. Will the Minister provide clarification in respect of these important issues?
There are many piers and slipways around our coasts which are not in council charge. Will the Minister be providing money in respect of these?
It would be difficult for me to provide funding for privately-owned piers.
They are not in private ownership.
In the context of piers, etc., that are publicly-owned and need to be repaired, we have already asked local authorities to indicate what are their priorities in respect of the infrastructure that needs to be put back in place.
On the single farm payment, farmers cannot apply for payment in respect of land that no longer exists because it has been washed away. We will need to discuss this matters with farmers because, from a legal perspective, we cannot draw down EU money in respect of agricultural land which is no longer there. If farmers are being paid and if one of the qualifying criteria is that land must be fenced off, there will be a need for them to put back in place any fencing which has been damaged or blown away in the coming weeks. We will show understanding and a degree of flexibility while this is being done, particularly in view of the extent of the damage done by storms. There is no carte blanche here, however, and we cannot ignore all the rules. From a legal perspective, I could not ignore the rules even if I wanted to do so. As stated, we will show a degree of flexibility and understanding in the context of the damage done as a result of recent storms. However, people who may have lost some land as a result of its being washed away by the sea or a river can not claim payment in respect of it.
What about stone walls?
I will, as the Deputy suggested, discuss that matter with my colleague.
We must move on.
No, the Minister referred to a period of two weeks.
That is a different issue and we cannot deal with it now.
The Minister referred to fencing being restored in two weeks. It would not be possible to restore stone walls in the same amount of time. Massive walls, which took years to build, have been completed destroyed.
We can discuss this matter later.
Is the Minister stating that those who cannot restore such walls in that time will be penalised?
The Deputy has moved to a completely different issue.
I did not say they would be penalised.
