Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 23 Nov 1993

Vol. 436 No. 1

Written Answers. - Area Aid Applications.

Robert Molloy

Ceist:

147 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if his attention has been drawn to the difficulty for farmers making area aid applications who have been informed that photocopied maps will not suffice; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Pádraic McCormack

Ceist:

154 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the regulations regarding the request to farmers to provide ordnance survey maps with their applications for area aid; if this is the case, if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this will be a burden on farmers, particularly in the west of Ireland where farms are fragmented and often times farms are on different ordnance survey maps; if original maps have to be produced each year; if this is only for the initial year of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Seymour Crawford

Ceist:

160 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the way in which a person (details supplied) in County Monaghan can be expected to provide maps of land for his herd number, as he only rents land on a year to year basis, and is never sure what piece of land he would actually have for his cattle in any given season.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Mr. J. Walsh)

I propose taking Questions Nos. 147, 154 and 160 together.

As regards rented land, I wish to state that my Department is in negotiation with Ordnance Survey to see if the problems of farmers renting conacre can be dealt with by a later ordering deadline than the deadline appropriate to farmers who do not rent land. I am confident that a satisfactory solution to the problems of such farmers will be worked out and announced shortly.

I was very conscious of the position of farmers requiring more than one map to cover their holdings. To address this issue I have negotiated with Ordnance Survey a 50 per cent reduction from £25 to £12.50 in the cost of all maps over and above the first map required by any individual farmer to cover his or her entire holding. Farmers who submit maps in early 1994 will not be required to buy and submit further maps with their area aid applications in subsequent years unless there are changes in the areas declared by them in those years. Therefore, the outlay arising from the purchase of maps for 1994 will benefit the vast majority of farmers over a number of subsequent years. Farmers who submitted original maps in 1993 — and where there are no changes in the land farmed in 1994 — will not be required to submit maps in 1994.

My Department has to have confidence in the accuracy of the maps which farmers submit. That is why we need original maps. I am satisfied that the reduced price now available for all maps over and above the first map required by any individual farmer should overcome any difficulties due to the non-acceptability of photo-copies.