Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 March 2023
226. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the work undertaken by his Department to ensure that farmers are aware of the new land eligibility rules, in particular that landscape features such as hedgerows are eligible for payment and that beneficial features such as scrub may occupy up to 50% of a parcel, without impacting the eligibility of parcel. [15647/23]
View answerAs part of the development of the CAP Strategic Plan, we have, over the last number of years, carried out a range of public engagements and consultations with farmers and the wider public. These events, both online and in-person, have been designed to brief people on our original proposals including those relating to land eligibility and also to seek feed back on the new rules.
Following the approval of the CAP Strategic Plan my Department has continued to engage with farmers, advisors and farm organisations including through a series of webinars which were well attended. Recordings of the webinars are available on the Department's website for review. My Department has also collaborated with farming media at a number of public CAP events around the country. These events have covered our new land eligibility rules, including worked examples of how beneficial features such as scrub will be dealt with.
At the end of this month my Department will commence the delivery of another 19 in-person BISS Farmer Clinics and 10 Public Meetings throughout the country. Details of these events are given in farming publications and they will be advertised locally as well. The meetings and clinics will be running right up until the closing date for applications which is May 29th this year. The clinics offer farmers the opportunity to work through their application on a one-to-one basis with staff who can answer any queries that may arise.
The Public Meetings will include presentations covering the major topics including land eligibility and the eligibility of beneficial features (50% rule). This is an exceptionally positive development as part of the new CAP and one that I am pleased to have secured. It allows for areas of environmental importance within the agricultural landscape to be included as part of the eligible area, once less than 50% of the parcel area. These areas of scrub, habitat, rock and woodland are integral to our landscape and rewarding farmers for having these is an important change. Hedgerows are also eligible for payment and have been since 2009.
The Basic Income Support Scheme (BISS) Terms and Conditions which were released to coincide with the opening of the BISS applications in early March also covers land eligibility rules in detail. There is also an accompanying document - A Guide to Land Eligibility which details how the eligible area at parcel level is calculated when beneficial features are present. In the coming weeks an updated version of this document will be published online, which will contain answers to the typical questions that farmers and advisors have been asking as part of our webinars and other public engagements.
My Department will continue to work through all available channels in the coming weeks and months to ensures farmers are fully aware of the changes to the CAP, including land eligibility rules.
