Ivan Yates
Ceist:104 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the proposals, if any, he has for the introduction of individual base areas under the Common Agricultural Policy Reform for cereals.
Written Answers. - CAP Reforms for Cereals.
Ivan Yates
Ceist:105 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the way in which the EC authorities intend to verify whether cereals were grown by individual farmers in the years from 1989 to 1991 inclusive, in order to establish individual base areas; and applicants in this regard.
Ivan Yates
Ceist:138 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when he envisages that farmers will have individual cereal quotas after 1994 and whether these will be tradeable or linked to the land on which grain is produced between 1989 and 1991.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 104, 105 and 138 together.
It is my intention to operate a system of individual base areas after the first year of the Common Agricultural Policy reform arrangements, provided that I can be assured that the detailed rules for such a system will be suitable to Irish conditions. I am particularly concerned to ensure that the rules will be sufficiently flexible to accommodate hardship cases and new entrants. The EC Commission has yet to draw up the detailed rules for individual base areas including those relating to the means of establishing base areas and to transfers of entitlement. In the circumstances, I am not yet in a position to give definitive information on these latter points.