Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 February 2023
492. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when his Department was first provided with the draft guidelines and regulations to state aid in agriculture, forestry and fisheries for 2023 to 2027; if his Department made any submission to the process generally that would have facilitated Coillte accessing State supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5861/23]
View answerThe Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) first received the draft guidelines for the European Commission’s revision of the State aid rules for the agricultural and forestry sectors and in rural areas in January 2022, when they were provided to all Member States.
The European Commission launched a public consultation on these guidelines in February 2022. DAFM published this consultation on gov.ie (www.gov.ie/en/consultation/300eb-public-consultation-on-revised-state-aid-rules-for-the-agricultural-and-forestry-sectors-and-in-rural-areas/) requesting organisations submitting observations/comments to also provide a copy to the Department to help inform our position. DAFM received no comments.
The European Commission also held two meetings in March 2022 and September 2022 to discuss proposals with Member States. As the Deputy may be aware, the Department has submitted comments during this period with a focus on ensuring that these guidelines reflect the best interests of land-owners within Ireland. Please note that the main drivers of the revision of this regulation were to align the State aid rules to the new Common Agricultural Policy (EU) 2021/2115.
The current Guidelines for State aid in the agricultural and forestry sectors and in rural areas came into place on 1st January 2023. Further details of the this consultation and development can be located at competition-policy.ec.europa.eu/public-consultations/2022-agri_en. DAFM is now currently working intensively towards securing full State Aid approval for the next Forestry Programme 2023-2027. I note the revised Guidelines have removed explicit references in the related areas to public and private landowners. It is not clear whether this will have any impact on the Court Judgement which precluded Coillte from receiving monetary premia, but DAFM will be making enquires in relation to that matter.
