Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 April 2015
281. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress update on the negotiations for a new charter of rights for farmers; if simplification of the Common Agricultural Policy scheme, a more farmer friendly implementation of the scheme and a more effective appeals system will be incorporated into the new charter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14483/15]
View answerThe Farmers Charter Review Group is chaired by an Assistant Secretary General of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and comprised of senior Department officials and representatives of the main farmer representative organisations. The aim of the Review Group is to agree standards and delivery targets for the schemes and services provided by the Department to all its clients including farmers. In terms of the simplification, the Commissioner, Hogan, recently announced that his focus would in the first instance be on the Direct Payment Schemes. This is an approach which I fully support and will be working closely with the Commissioner and his officials in this regard. Any simplification of schemes as a result of this initiative would of course be reflected in the Farmers Charter.
Irish farmers draw down roughly €1.2bn per annum in direct payments under the CAP. As you will be aware the EU Regulations governing the various schemes require Member States to carry out a certain level of inspections to ensure that farmers meet their obligations in terms of qualifying for direct payments. I am very mindful that farmer payments are crucially important and that is why there is already a robust appeals mechanism in place in my Department whereby a farmer who is not satisfied with any decision affecting his/her payment m a y seek an internal review. Should the farmer not be satisfied with the outcome of this review he/she may refer the matter to the Agriculture Appeals Office, which is an independent agency established to provide a free impartial service to farmers who are unhappy with decisions regarding their entitlements under certain schemes. The Agriculture Appeals Office operates under the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001 and the Agriculture Appeals Regulations 2002. Farmers can also appeal any decision affecting their payment entitlement to the Ombudsman. The above process including details of how to seek a review/appeal, contact details, etc. will be outlined in detail in the new Farmers Charter.
While negotiations on the new Farmers’ Charter are at an advanced stage there are a number of areas that require further discussion. My Department is endeavouring to achieve consensus with representatives of the main farmer representative organisations on these outstanding issues and to do so in as timely a manner as possible. As you will be aware, a round of CAP Information meetings took place recently throughout the country. These important meetings required the involvement of key officials from my Department. As a result, progress in negotiations on the Farmers’ Charter was somewhat delayed.
Upon finalisation of the new Farmers’ Charter, a Charter Monitoring Committee will be established under an independent chair to monitor Charter targets/commitments.
