9 Apr 2015, 12:33
The uncertainty faced by farmers regarding eligibility of marginal land under the Basic Payment Scheme and issues concerning GLAS will be on the agenda of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine tomorrow afternoon.
13 April 2015
The meeting will hear from farming organisations and agricultural consultants over the course of two sessions:
- Session B: 2.30 p.m. [Representatives from Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA)]; and
- Session A: 3.30 p.m. [Representatives from Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association and Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA)
Committee Chairman Andrew Doyle TD says: “Uncertainty around eligibility for EU payments of marginal land is the source of considerable stress to farm families across the country. Tomorrow’s meeting is an opportunity for the Committee to hear first-hand for farming representatives on the need to provide clarity on land eligibility at the earliest possible opportunity, in what is the first year of the implementation of the new CAP. The concerns of farmers on marginal land in relation to the implementation of the GLAS scheme will also be raised. The Committee will also gain from the input of the Agricultural Consultants Association, whose members are at the forefront of the provision of professional services to farmers nationwide.”
The meeting tomorrow will commence with scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals COM(2015)41, which relates to fishing opportunities for seabass.
The meeting will commence at 2 pm tomorrow Tuesday 14 April in Committee Room 4, LH 2000, with EU scrutiny in private session. The outcomes of the discussions will be outlined in public session, before engagement with farming representatives.
Committee proceedings can be followed live here.
Media enquiries to:
Paul Hand,
Communications Unit,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926
paul.hand@oireachtas.ie
Committee Membership:
Chairman: Andrew Doyle, (Fine Gael)
Deputies: Tom Barry (Fine Gael); Pat Deering (Fine Gael); Martin Ferris (Sinn Féin); Martin Heydon (Fine Gael); Michael McNamara (Labour); Éamon Ó Cuív (Fianna Fáil); Willie Penrose (Labour Party); Thomas Pringle (Independent)
Senators: Michael Comiskey, Denis Landy, Paschal Mooney, Mary Ann O’Brien, Brian Ó Domhnaill, Pat O’Neill