Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 March 2015
372. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the expenditure to date under each measure or heading of the rural development programme 2007-13; the proposed expenditure under each subhead of the rural development plan 2014-20 lodged with his Department in autumn 2014 and as published at the time by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11782/15]
View answerThe Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2007-2013 is broken down into 5 Axes. The first axis addresses Competitiveness in Agriculture and has spent a total of €362m up to the end of 2014. Axis 2 of the RDP addresses Environment and Land Management objectives. This axis includes measures such as REPS, AEOS, Less Favoured Areas etc. The spend on these measures totals €3,590m until the end of 2014.
Axes 3 and 4 of the RDP fund measures in the Wider Rural Economy (LEADER measures) which come under the responsibility of my colleague Minister Kelly. Spending on these measures amounted to €303m up to the end of 2014.
Finally Axis 5 provides for technical assistance to the RDP. This axis has spent €2.3m up to the end of 2014.
The Rural Development Programme (RDP), 2014-2020 will be a key support in enhancing the competitiveness of the agri-food sector, achieving more sustainable management of natural resources and ensuring a more balanced development of rural areas. EU Regulation No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for Rural Development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) sets out the breakdown of EU support for rural development for each Member State for the years 2014 – 2020. Ireland's total EAFRD allocation for rural development is some €2.19 billion (or some €313 million per annum), as agreed at the EU Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) negotiations in 2013. EU funding amounts are combined with national co-funding to provide for each Member State's RDP.
The MFF is subject to a formal amendment process at EU level for RDPs approved in 2015. However, the average amount of EU support per annum remains the same. It has been agreed that a letter of comfort will issue to Member States who have informally agreed their RDP with the Commission in 2015 but where formal adoption of the RDP will be delayed by amendments to the MFF.
The main headings of expenditure in Ireland's draft RDP are €1.3bn in respect of Areas of Natural Constraint, €1.4bn in respect of Agri-Environment Schemes (including transitional expenditure), €112m in respect of a range of knowledge transfer measures, €295m in respect of the Beef Data and Genomics Programme, €395m in respect of support for on farm capital investment, €56m in respect of support for Organic Farming, €3m in support for collaborative farming arrangements, €250m for LEADER funding, and €6m in respect of technical assistance to support the implementation of the RDP.
Detailed discussions and intensive negotiations have been ongoing between my Department and the Commission in recent months in order to secure agreement on the new RDP. Ireland's RDP has now been formally resubmitted to the EU Commission where it has entered the Commission's final round of inter-services consultation. When this process is complete, the schemes and supports contained in Ireland's RDP will be rolled out in line with the annual budgetary process.
