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Common Agricultural Policy

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020

Tuesday, 15 September 2020

Questions (879, 880, 881, 884, 885)

Michael McNamara

Question:

879. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the CAP allocation made available to Ireland in 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23531/20]

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Michael McNamara

Question:

880. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of the CAP allocation paid to farmers in 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23532/20]

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Michael McNamara

Question:

881. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the items the balance of the CAP was spent on; the names, addresses and amounts paid to entities; the justification for the payments; the reason they received an allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23533/20]

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Michael McNamara

Question:

884. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if meat processors received a CAP allocation; if so, the name and amount paid to each; the justification for each payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23536/20]

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Michael McNamara

Question:

885. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount returned to the EU by his Department; the justification proffered by his Department for the refund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23537/20]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 879, 880, 881, 884 and 885 together.

  The CAP allocation made to Ireland comprises of the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) for the programming period 2014-2020 and the European Agriculture Rural Development Fund (EAFRD) for the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme.  

European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF)

For the programme period 2014 – 2020, €8.5 billion was allocated to EAGF Direct Payments for Ireland. Regulation (EU) 1307 of 2013 sets out the annual Direct Payment ceilings for each Member State for the relevant financial years. The annual ceiling in 2019 for Direct Payments was €1.211 billion of which approximately €1.2 billion has been paid to farmers. Where the ceiling has not been fully utilised, these amounts remain available to the Member States to pay applicants who subsequently become eligible for payment.  Such payments are currently ongoing across all scheme years. Additional to this, annual provisions are made for market measures as per market demands. In 2019, Ireland received an additional allocation for Temporary Exceptional Aid (BEAM Scheme) from the EAGF amounting to €50 million. To date, €49.8 million has been paid to farmers from this fund.

European Agriculture Rural Development Fund (EAFRD)

€2.19 billion was allocated to Ireland from the EAFRD for the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme.  The funding is for the full period of the programme and under the "N+3" rule expenditure up to 2023 is eligible to be claimed  against the 2014-2020 allocation. As of 31st December 2019, Ireland incurred expenditure that attracted EAFRD funding of €1.65 billion. Our execution rate is one of the highest in Europe – the most recent being in excess of 80% as opposed to an EU average of 60%. In 2019, EAFRD funds claimed in Ireland amounted to €338.6million vs an indicative allocation of €312.7 million. While the Rural Development Programme Financial Plan sets out an indicative allocation of approximately €313million for each of the 7 years 2014-2020, where expenditure in a year is less than the indicative allocation the amount available for subsequent years of the programme is increased accordingly. Thus, the extent of unspent EU funds can only be measured at the end of the programming period, rather than on an annual basis.

Publication of CAP Beneficiaries

In accordance with Regulation (EU) 1306 of 2013, the Department is obliged to ensure the annual ex-post publication of all of the beneficiaries of CAP funding, which shall remain available for two years from the date of the initial publication. In accordance with this Regulation my Department must, by 31st May each year, publish the following data:

- The name of the beneficiary (unless the amount of payment under CAP funds is less than €1,250, in which case the individual will be identified by a code)

- The municipality where the beneficiary is resident

- The amount of payment corresponding to each measure received by a beneficiary, and

- The nature and description of each measure.

Information regarding payments made under these measures may be accessed in the CAP Beneficiaries Database via the following link  https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/agri-foodindustry/euinternationalpolicy/ commonagriculturalpolicycap/capbeneficiariesdatabase/.

Questions Nos. 880 and 881 answered with Question No. 879.
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