When formulating the shape of Direct Payments in Ireland, I based my decisions on some key fundamental principles. In particular, it is my clear objective that any disruption to our current levels of production arising from the Reform should be minimised. There was a distinct danger for Ireland that the Commission proposal to move to a ‘flat-rate’ would redistribute funds away from our most productive farmers and land, to the less fertile areas of the country. While recognising that it is no longer possible to justify variations in the level of support on the basis of out-dated historical references, my guiding principle was that the redistribution of funds should take place in a gradual, phased manner over the five years of the new scheme thereby allowing farmers to adjust to the new level of income support.
For this reason, the redistribution of funds in Ireland will be managed solely through the mechanism of the Internal Convergence Model as originally proposed by Ireland. This model provides a clear methodology for the redistribution of funds from those who currently hold high value entitlements to those who hold low value entitlements. It is predictable and easily tracked and will make it possible to provide very clear information to farmers regarding the level of support they can expect to receive for the period 2015 to 2019. In addition, it achieves the stated objectives of a gradual phased redistribution of funds in a fair and objective manner.
Any farmer with an Initial Unit Value below 90% of the national average entitlements value will see the value of their entitlements increase. The ‘minimum entitlement value’ by 2019 has been set at 60% of the national average while I have also applied a ‘maximum value’ whereby no farmer will receive a payment per hectare of over €700 by 2019.
I have also applied significant priority to young farmers under the Direct Payment Regulation and this priority is supported in our implementation. In common with many other EU Member States, Ireland has experienced a significant aging of our farming community and I have looked to the category of ‘young farmer’ as a means of encouraging generational renewal. In this context I have decided to apply the maximum amounts permissible of 3% of our Basic Payment ceiling to the National Reserve and 2% of our National ceiling to the Young Farmers Scheme for 2015. To ensure that the benefits of the ‘young farmer’ category are targeted at those who have a genuine interest in agriculture as a career, I am also applying a requirement for a high level of education in agriculture.
In determining eligibility under the new Scheme, I also decided to implement the so-called Scottish Derogation measure which allows my Department to allocate entitlements to those who never held entitlements under the current Single Payment Scheme but who were actively farming in 2013. In addition, farmers who were not eligible to receive a payment in 2013 (and therefore do not have an automatic allocation right) but who produced fruits and vegetables in 2013 will be eligible to receive an allocation of entitlements under the new reform. A minimum area of one hectare will be applied to this group.
In determining the number of entitlements to be allocated under the Basic Payment Scheme, Ireland will make use of eligible land declared in 2013 and 2015, whichever is lowest. This option is of particular importance in Ireland where much farming activity is based on leased land and where a future ‘land reference’ would have resulted in very disruptive land speculation.
The outcome is a reasonable and balanced compromise between the need for a fair redistribution of funds while ensuring that such distribution continues to reflect the realities of agricultural production in Ireland.
