Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 16 September 2016
1498. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will seek to have included in budget 2017 the €25 million areas of natural constraint scheme disadvantaged areas increase in order that this can be made available to applicants in the 2017 financial year. [24368/16]
View answerTotal allocated funding in respect of Payments under Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) Scheme under the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme is €1,370m, or €195 million annually. The 2016 Revised Estimates have committed an additional €7m in funding under ANC 2016 to address current scheme budget deficits.
The Programme for a Partnership Government sets out the commitment to increase the budget for the ANC Scheme by €25m in Budget 2018. This commitment is in recognition of the Rural Development Regulation requiring all Member States to designate eligible areas under the ANC Scheme by reference to new biophysical criteria by 2018. The technical work underlying this process is currently underway, and the additional €25m will be integrated into the resultant scheme design process in 2018.
