Written Answers Nos. 102-109
102. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers who applied for the basic payment scheme and for the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, by county and in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41912/15]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is set out in the tables below.
GLAS Applications
|
County |
Submitted |
|
CARLOW |
299 |
|
CAVAN |
961 |
|
CLARE |
1684 |
|
CORK |
2347 |
|
DONEGAL |
2043 |
|
DUBLIN |
66 |
|
GALWAY |
3250 |
|
KERRY |
1853 |
|
KILDARE |
305 |
|
KILKENNY |
473 |
|
LAOIS |
393 |
|
LEITRIM |
1067 |
|
LIMERICK |
1130 |
|
LONGFORD |
536 |
|
LOUTH |
160 |
|
MAYO |
2681 |
|
MEATH |
481 |
|
MONAGHAN |
611 |
|
OFFALY |
505 |
|
ROSCOMMON |
1585 |
|
SLIGO |
978 |
|
TIPPERARY |
1233 |
|
WATERFORD |
393 |
|
WESTMEATH |
680 |
|
WEXFORD |
859 |
|
WICKLOW |
362 |
|
Total |
26935 |
Basic Payment Scheme Applications
|
County |
Eligible BPS applications |
|
CARLOW |
1567 |
|
CAVAN |
4590 |
|
CLARE |
5876 |
|
CORK |
12457 |
|
DONEGAL |
8165 |
|
DUBLIN |
603 |
|
GALWAY |
11611 |
|
KERRY |
7488 |
|
KILDARE |
2008 |
|
KILKENNY |
3240 |
|
LAOIS |
2781 |
|
LEITRIM |
3311 |
|
LIMERICK |
4826 |
|
LONGFORD |
2292 |
|
LOUTH |
1467 |
|
MAYO |
11177 |
|
MEATH |
3621 |
|
MONAGHAN |
3900 |
|
OFFALY |
2951 |
|
ROSCOMMON |
5501 |
|
SLIGO |
3873 |
|
TIPPERARY |
6614 |
|
WATERFORD |
2304 |
|
WESTMEATH |
2873 |
|
WEXFORD |
3836 |
|
WICKLOW |
2031 |
|
Total |
120963 |
103. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when outstanding payments will be made under the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme 1; the number of farmers who have submitted documentation for payment and the number who have not yet received payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41913/15]
View answerApplications for payment under the TAMS 1 schemes are being processed on an ongoing basis and my Department currently has some 2,500 claims on hand. These are all being examined at present, with a view to making all payments possible by end of year.
104. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers who applied for the areas of natural constraint scheme and for the basic payment scheme and the number who have been paid, by county, in 2015 to date, in tabular form; the amount paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41914/15]
View answerPayments under the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme commenced, on schedule, on 23 September, 2015. To date, payments worth €177.5m have issued to 83,294 applicants. The total number of eligible applicants is 102,555.
Under the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme, advance payments commenced on 16 October, 2015. To date, payments worth €725.7m have issued to 114,372 applicants. The total number of applicants who currently have entitlements and who have applied for the scheme is 120,963.
Work is continuing in my Department to prioritise the processing of outstanding cases for payment under both schemes. Regular pay runs are in place to pay applicants as cases are cleared for payment. Balancing payments under the Basic Payments Scheme are due to commence on 1 December.
The further detail requested on a county basis by the Deputy is currently being collated and will be forwarded directly once available. Further to Parliamentary Question No. 308 of 10 October 2015, reference No. PQ39615/15, similar information has recently been finalised and forwarded directly to the Deputy.
105. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he will announce details of the hen harrier scheme or the locally-led environment scheme announced recently; when applications will be accepted; if farmers who apply to join these schemes will be able to amend their green low-carbon agri-environment plans to maximise their payments under the two schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41915/15]
View answerIn the first instance, I would like to point out that I have already provided for a significant framework of support for farmers with hen-harrier through GLAS. Farmers with land identified as important for the bird are guaranteed access to the scheme as priority candidates in Tier One of GLAS. I have also provided that such farmers will be automatically approved for GLAS Plus should they be farming a sufficient area of habitat. I would strongly encourage all farmers with hen-harrier land to take up this measure under GLAS, which offers a payment rate of €370 per hectare. Farmers can earn up to €7,000 per annum through a combination of GLAS and GLAS Plus payments and some 1,400 hen-harrier farmers have already been approved into the new scheme.
In addition, I have recently announced that I intend to introduce a further scheme of assistance under the Locally Led Agri-Environment measure, to cater for farmers who are farming large tracts of hen-harrier land. One of the principles of the planned locally-led measure is to explore new ways of managing farming effort for the benefit of the environment, and in this case for the benefit of the hen-harrier. The detail of what type of actions will be applied under this new scheme is still being developed and this in turn will direct how the Locally Led Scheme interfaces with GLAS.
When the new scheme is designed, it has then to be negotiated with the EU Commission and formally introduced by amendment to the Rural Development Programme. I expect that this process will be concluded early next year. However, only one amendment of the RDP is allowed annually, which means that a number of items will be bundled together and presented for approval at the same time. The proposed amendment is necessary to get EU approval not alone for the new Hen Harrier scheme, but also for the various other locally-led schemes that I intend to introduce. After approval has been received I will be in a position to open a Hen-Harrier Scheme.
106. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when approvals will issue to farmers who applied for the national reserve's young farmers top-up and for the Scottish derogation; when payments will issue; the number of applicants received, and the estimated expenditure by category; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41916/15]
View answerMy Department received some 7,000 National Reserve applications, 8,500 Young Farmers Scheme applications and 3,500 Scottish Derogation applications in 2015.
Processing of National Reserve, Young Farmers Scheme and Scottish Derogation applications is ongoing. In order to finalise processing under these Schemes many related issues pertaining to registration of herd numbers, land parcel identification, entitlement registration, agricultural education and off-farm income details need to be verified for applicants. My Department has issued letters to applicants requesting additional documentation in relation to their applications. A large number of applicants have yet to respond and these cases cannot be fully processed until replies are received. It is expected that approvals will issue and payments will be made after Basic Payment Scheme balancing payment in December.
The National Reserve fund in 2015 is based on 3% of the Basic Payment Scheme financial ceiling, which is estimated at providing approximately €24 million in funding. An additional funding of €24 million is also available under the Young Farmers Scheme for 2015. Funding for the Scottish Derogation is financed mainly from the Basic payment scheme and 2,800 applications have been processed to date at a cost in 2015 of €550,000 from that ceiling and these farmers have been notified accordingly. A small number of Scottish Derogation applicants who did not submit a 2013 Single payment scheme application will be financed from the National Reserve.
It is not possible to provide detail of expenditure under each of the listed Schemes until all processing has been finalised.
107. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payments for 2015 under the rural environment protection scheme, the agri-environment options scheme and the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme will commence; the expected expenditure on payments for 2015 by scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41917/15]
View answerIt is anticipated that payments for the 2015 Scheme Year for REPS4 will commence on 24 November and the expected expenditure under the Scheme for 2015 by the end of the year will be approximately €5.5 million.
It is anticipated that payments for the 2015 Scheme Year for AEOS1, AEOS2 and AEOS3 will commence at the beginning of December and the expected expenditure under the Scheme for 2015 by the end of the year will be approximately €52 million.
It is anticipated that payments for the 2015 Scheme Year for GLAS will commence in the middle of December; €20m is provided for in the estimates for GLAS this year.
108. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount expended on the farmers' charter of rights to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41926/15]
View answerA Farmers' Charter Review Group was set up in 2014 with a view to agreeing a new Farmers' Charter of Rights. The Farmers' Charter Review Group was 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.
Following on from positive engagement by all parties, negotiations between my Department and the main farming organisations on a new Farmers' Charter of Rights concluded on Thursday 11 June 2015 with consensus achieved on the Charter.
The Farmers' Charter of Rights is effectively an agreement between my Department and the main farming organisations on improving the standards and delivery targets for the Department's schemes and services, including on-farm inspections, and brings clarity to the arrangements around inspections. The Charter sets out, in very clear language, the timelines, application, payment and appeals processes and is a very useful reference for farmers.
The new Charter will remain in place until 2020 coinciding with the lifetime of the current Pillar I and Pillar II schemes.
The total expenditure in respect of the Farmers' Charter Review Group was €1,896.
A Farmers' Charter of Rights Monitoring Committee has now been established under an independent chair to monitor agreed targets and standards. This Committee is comprised of representatives of the farm organisations and staff of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The total expenditure to date in respect of the Farmers' Charter of Rights Monitoring Committee is €599.
The above expenditure figures are in respect of room hire for meetings, teas/coffees & biscuits for meetings and the fee paid to the Chairman (fee paid to the Chairman for the Monitoring Committee only). The figures provided do not take account of the salary costs for staff involved in the Review Group and Monitoring Committee.
109. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a person in receipt of a single payment will continue to qualify for the payment if the person rents out land for green energy purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41927/15]
View answerPayments under the Basic Payment Scheme may only be made where the Department is satisfied that the applicant is a farmer engaged in an agricultural activity during the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme year.
Section 1.7 of the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme Terms and Conditions covering land eligibility stipulates that in order to be eligible for payment each land parcel must have an agricultural activity carried out on it. If there is no activity on all or part of a parcel, such area is ineligible for payment. It also defines agricultural activity as meaning the production, rearing or growing of agricultural products including harvesting, milking, breeding animals and keeping animals for farming purposes, or maintaining the land in good agricultural and environmental condition as established under Article 94 of Regulation (EC) No 1306/2013.
Land used for green energy purposes, including solar panels, must comply with these requirements in order to be eligible for payment under the Basic Payment Scheme. Department Officials must be satisfied that an agricultural activity is being carried out on the parcel and that adequate deductions have been made for ineligible areas. With regard to solar panels, officials in my Department will raise the specific issue with the Commission prior to providing more detailed clarification to farmers on the eligibility or otherwise of such land.
