Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
2105. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide the written correspondence from the European Commission requesting the removal of the off-farm income limit for the basic payment scheme national reserve; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42264/22]
View answerThe relevant extract from the Letter of Findings for Enquiry Number NAC/2018/003/IE concerning Entitlements Scheme under Regulations (EU) No 1307/2013, 639/2014, 640/2014, 641/2014 and 809/2014 is shown below:
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Establishment and management of the national reserve
Correct allocation from the national reserve to young farmers or farmers commencing their agricultural activity – undue exclusion of farmers and undue limitations concerning the number of eligible hectares
Regulatory provisions
Art. 30(4), 30(6), 30(10), 30(11) (b), 50(2) and 50(3) of Reg. 1307/2013, Art. 28(1) of Reg. 639/2014
Assessment
It was found during the audit that the Irish authorities applied the following two additional eligibility conditions to the farmers submitting an aid application for allocation of payment entitlements under Art. 30(6) of R. 1307/2013 12
- The gross non-agricultural income of the applicant should not exceed EUR 40 000 in one of the two previous tax years of the year of aid application (e.g. for claim year 2015 the tax years in reference were 2013 or 2014).
The Irish authorities explained that the reason for implementing this financial eligibility criterion was to ensure that the national reserve is distributed to genuine young farmers, who earn a reasonable proportion of their income from farming activities.
- The allocation of entitlements and the increase in the value of existing entitlements is limited to a maximum of 90 hectares.
The Irish authorities explained that the reason for implementing this eligibility condition was the deep concern of farming groups in Ireland that the land rental market would suffer deep and damaging consequences in the absence of such limiting conditions.
Conclusion
DG AGRI considers that the implementation of both these additional eligibility criteria is not in line with Art. 30(11) (b) and Art. 50(3) of R.1307/2013 that allow Member States to add additional criteria regarding solely appropriate skills, experience, or education of the farmers.
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My Department demonstrated that Ireland's action was justified Article 30(4) of Regulation (EU) 1307/2013 (avoiding distortion of markets) while also complying with Article 30(6) of Regulation (EU) 1307/2013 (prioritising the allocation of entitlements to young farmers and new farmers). The Department contested the audit findings over an extended period, up to and including conciliation. However, agreement could not be reached on this matter.
During this audit process, these two criteria remained in place, and have now been changed for the 2022 scheme year given that the conciliation process is concluded.
