Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 May 2021
4. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the sources and value of funding for the results-based environmental agri pilot project; if he will review the number of participants in view of the level of demand for participation under the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27253/21]
View answerThere have been five applications for every place on the pilot environmental scheme, even with restricted access to it and the poor financial return. It clearly shows the demand from farmers for more sustainable farming models. However, this must pay farmers directly for carbon reductions.
I secured an additional €79 million, including €23 million from the carbon tax fund, in budget 2021 to support actions in the area of biodiversity, climate, environment and farm health and safety, while also supporting farm incomes. Part of this is the results-based environment agri pilot, REAP. While it is small, it is innovative, ambitious and farmer friendly.
It is a pilot because we are in a transition period between now and the new CAP kicking off in January 2023. It will pay up to a maximum of €12,600 between now and then. We expect the average payment on 10 ha to be close to €5,000 which is significant in terms of income. Both small and large farmers can benefit fully from the income that it actually generates. It will also allow them to make a contribution in terms of biodiversity and climate change, allowing everybody to contribute equally to that, be they a small or large farmer.
It is five times oversubscribed. We heard lots of criticism in advance of the scheme being published but not a peep of criticism since then. The only criticism is, what I predicted at the outset, that we would have more of the scheme than the pilot terms and conditions would allow. It is five times oversubscribed. I would love to be able to accommodate everyone in it. I have written to the European Commissioner on how we can accommodate more and to see if the potential is there for that. It will contribute significantly to farm incomes and will be an important measure for biodiversity and climate change.
I would have liked if the Minister had responded to my original question. He might come back to me in the supplementary to explain the exact sources of funding for the €10 million set out initially. The previous budget had allocated €3 million directly from the Minister for Finance. That leaves a balance of €7 million that has to be funded.
If the Minister is going cap in hand to the Commission looking for permission, then some of that €7 million is coming from EU funding. How much of the €23 million in carbon taxes that was provided to the Department will go into this scheme as it is currently formulated?
Overall, there is €79 million for new agri-environmental measures this year. Out of that, €23 million is from the carbon tax fund. There is a key programme for Government commitment to introduce a new flagship agri-environmental scheme in the next CAP which will start in January 2023. In funding that scheme, there will be €1.5 billion from the carbon tax between now and 2050.
In the transition period, we are constrained to pilot measures. We are not able to spend money on entirely new schemes because they cannot come in yet. I am very heartened by the response to REAP. The Deputy is right that it shows the appetite among farmers for a scheme that is well structured. They can get a return in terms of income and it will allow them to deliver for the environment. My key objective is to explore the opportunity to ensure as many farmers as possible can be included in that actual scheme.
This pilot scheme is one of the key initiatives in the Department for 2021. We have a greening of government which I welcome. This is a key strand of that with both the initial pilot and the further expansion of it.
In the programme for Government, a clear indication is given that part of the carbon tax fund will go directly to Irish farmers. I asked the Minister in written and oral parliamentary questions about this. On both occasions, he refused to answer how much of the carbon tax is allocated to that €10 million fund under this environmental scheme. Up to €3 million had been allocated in the previous year directly from the Minister for Finance. The Minister has gone cap in hand to the Commission looking for permission which clearly indicates that part of this funding is coming directly from the European Commission. How much of the €23 million is going into this environmental pilot scheme?
In terms of our rural development programme and our measures within that, we have to engage with the European Commission in terms of getting approval for schemes that are part of that. State aid, which is important with this, comes within the rural development programme. That is why I am engaging with Europe and seeking permission to be able to accommodate additional farmers within the terms of the CAP.
Out of €79 million this year for additional new environmental measures, €23 million is coming from the carbon tax. As the Deputy knows, we can only spend so much of it this year and next year because we are in the transition period.
The clear commitment in the programme for Government is that there will be €1.5 billion of it up to 2030. The new flagship agri-environmental scheme will start in January 2023, so it is really positive that we have the funding for the commitment in the programme for Government to help to make it a good and substantial scheme. If less is spent this year from the €1.5 billion carbon tax fund, there will be more funding from the scheme for the flagship agri-environmental scheme that will be in place from 2023.
The Minister never answered the question.
