Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 September 2018
273. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht further to Parliamentary Question No. 252 of 26 April 2018, the European regulation that obliges member states to protect against double funding for delivery of the same objective; and if it is EU or national policy that deems participation in both GLAS and the National Parks and Wildlife Service farm plan scheme simultaneously as not permissible. [39359/18]
View answerArticle 28 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) states that “payments shall be granted annually and shall compensate beneficiaries for all or part of the additional costs and income foregone resulting from the commitments made”. It is a fundamental principle underpinning the rules for public expenditure in the EU that costs for the same activity cannot be funded twice and that double funding must be avoided, including between EAFRD co-financed schemes and schemes funded from the national exchequer. To protect against double funding, a national policy decision has been taken to not administer separate payments to farmers in both the NPWS farm plan scheme and GLAS.
