Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 September 2014
30. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if farmers with rights to commonage land will have to agree a grazing plan with at least 50% of farmers using the same commonage in order to qualify for single farm payments and disadvantaged area payments under the new Common Agricultural Policy proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35162/14]
View answerCommonage lands form an important part of the farming enterprises of many farmers, in addition to being crucial from the point of view of bio-diversity, wildlife, amenities and tourism. A total of some 14,936 farmers declare commonage land under the Single Payment Scheme and the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme. Commonage lands form a significant area of the lands declared annually by farmers in Ireland for the purposes of claiming the Single Farm Payment, the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and other Direct Payment Schemes, with approximately 7% of the lands declared are commonage lands. However, there is a growing risk of land abandonment on commonages as under-grazing becomes more of a problem. Farming of commonages is a complex matter, with issues about the legal right to claim, in addition to regular disputes about the grazing of the commonages.
In the case of the treatment of commonage lands under the 2014 Direct Payment Schemes, the situation remains unchanged. However, from 2015 onwards, a minimum grazing requirement, equivalent to at least one ewe per 1.5 hectares, will be required of all those applicants declaring marginal lands including commonage under the Basic Payment Scheme and the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme. A lower grazing level will be fixed for marginal lands where it is necessary on environmental grounds. These requirements must be met by each individual claimant by end December 2015 at the latest. The minimum grazing requirement must be met in order to qualify for the Basic Payment Scheme and the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme under the new CAP and does not require a grazing plan with at least 50% of farmers using the same commonage.
With a view to having a system to meet the requirements of the Basic Payment Scheme and Areas of Natural Constraint, which will be implemented in 2015, my Department will be writing to all commonage claimants in the coming weeks setting out their individual grazing requirements for marginal lands. The claimants will have the right, if they consider that the figures provided would not meet the requirements of their commonage, to submit an assessment by a professional planner providing alternative figures.
Above the minimum stocking level of one ewe per 1.5 hectares, the management of the grazing requirement is a matter for the individual claimants, provided that the commonage is kept in good agricultural and environmental condition and meets all the requirements for both the BPS and ANC schemes. Farmers should bear in mind that they must keep the land adequately grazed in order to ensure that the commonage retains the area eligible for payment.
