Michael Ring
Ceist:109 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the effect, if any, the national heritage areas will have on the payment of the REP scheme to farmers. [13133/96]
Written Answers. - REPS Grants.
Proposed natural heritage areas — NHAs — are essentially a matter for the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht.
My Department has an involvement, through a supplementary measure to the rural environment protection scheme, REPS. Supplementary measure 1 to REPS deals with the conservation of proposed NHAs. Farmers who have lands in such areas and who join REPS must abide by the conditions for the conservation of the proposed NHA as prescribed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service — NPWS — of the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht. This is a mandatory REPS measure for farmers who have some or all of their lands in a proposed NHA.
Farmers who have lands in a proposed NHA and who join REPS can avail of an additional payment of approximately £30 per hectare on top of the basic REPS premium of approximately £125 per hectare, subject to a maximum of 40 hectares. Obviously it is only possible to make such payments to farmers who, on joining REPS, agree to protect the proposed NHA as laid down by the NPWS. Where farmers with proposed NHAs on their lands do not agree to abide by the conditions laid down by the NPWS for the protection of the proposed NHA, it is not possible for them to obtain payments under REPS.