Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020
887. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans for a new agri-environmental scheme or an extension of the GLAS scheme at the end of 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23597/20]
View answerThe Programme for Government has set out clearly our strategy for agri-environment policy including our ambition to allocate €1.5bn to a flagship environmental scheme under the next CAP. This new scheme will be included in Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan and we intend to pilot some elements of this in the transitional phase between the CAP programming periods as well as adopting the best elements of our existing agri-environment schemes.
As consideration of the next CAP is ongoing, it is not possible to be definitive about the final shape of future schemes. The experience gained from existing agri-environmental schemes such as GLAS and the locally-led schemes run by my Department will be taken into account in designing new measures. However, there are a number of variables still undecided including agreement on the legislative framework for both the transitional period and the next CAP.
We are pressing hard for the earliest possible adoption of the EU regulations to facilitate the operation of schemes during the transitional period as the first priority. This is to provide some certainty until such time as CAP regulations and associated funding arrangements are agreed. As soon as we have this legal certainty, we will provide clarity and engage with all the relevant stakeholders on next steps.
