Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 June 2020
484. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the EU emergency measure will be implemented that will allow payments of €5,000 to be paid to farmers experiencing cash flow difficulties arising from the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10160/20]
View answerThe proposal to which the deputy refers seeks to introduce a new exceptional and temporary measure under the Rural Development Programme to address the liquidity problems for farming activities and of small businesses active in processing, marketing and/or development of agricultural products resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Specifically, the proposal provides for once-off lump sum payments for farmers of €5,000, and an amount of €50,000 for SMEs. The funding is limited to 1% of the RDP budget.
The proposal is still under negotiation in Brussels, and the agreement on the final legal text is still to be reached between the Council, European Commission and the European Parliament. It provides only a very limited opportunity for Member States that are well advanced in their drawdown of Rural Development funding to avail of these measures. Ireland is in the top two Member States in terms of execution of the Rural Development Programme, with over 84% of funding drawdown (EU average 60%), and the balance of the funding is either already committed or will be committed in 2020. Therefore, it is not proposed to utilise this measure, as to do so would involve a reallocation of funding from current schemes (ANC, GLAS, Organics, etc.) within the existing Rural Development Programme. This would have a further negative impact on those farms that may already be experiencing cashflow difficulties.
I continue, of course, to press at a national and EU level to ensure that sufficient supports are put in place for primary producers and for the wider agri-food sector. Most recently, I have brought forward payments on some RDP schemes, including €26m in GLAS payments and balancing payments under the Organic Farming scheme. I have also increased funding in my Department’s Calf Welfare Investment Scheme from €1.5 million to €4 million, to assist farmers with extra calves.
