Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 October 2020
209. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to allow farmers who have permanently lost grazing lands due to climate change to stack entitlements for BPS and ANC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32238/20]
View answerUnder the regulations governing the previous Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Ireland consolidated, or stacked, payment entitlements. Certain categories of farmers could surrender their original payment entitlements to the National Reserve. In exchange, these farmers received a lower number of payment entitlements with an increased payment entitlement unit value.
The EU regulations governing the current Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) do not provide for the consolidation of payment entitlements. In addition, consolidation is not planned in the Basic Income Support Scheme (BISS) under the new CAP programme. The opportunity for consolidation is also not provided for as part of the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme (ANC); payments made under this scheme are paid directly on land at a rate dependent on the categorisation. They are not based on payment entitlements.
