Liam Aylward
Ceist:172 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will have arrangements made for payment of a planting grant to a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny. [2439/97]
Written Answers. - Grant Payments.
The applicant was informed on 19 November 1996 that his plantation did not reach the required grant standard. If all the remedial works necessary to reach grant standard have now been completed the applicant should contact the Department to arrange a further inspection of the site. If this shows that the standard has been met payment of the planting grant will be made as quickly as possible thereafter.
Joe Walsh
Ceist:173 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will confirm recent media reports that he proposes to restrict headage and premia payments to farmers in degraded areas unless they reduce stocks to sustainable levels; if the Office of Public Works will determine sustainable stocking levels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2443/97]
As the Deputy may recall a formal commitment to have compensatory headage payments independently evaluated was entered into by my Department as part of the negotiations in 1994 on the Structural Funds leading up to the approval of the Operational Programme for Agriculture, Rural Development and Forestry. The Commission's attitude was that the funds allocated to this measure represented too high a percentage (62 per cent) of the overall allocation to the structural improvement and rural development element of the Operational Programme.
The consultants who carried out the evaluation came up with many recommendations including tackling the overgrazing problem. Following consideration of the report, I made a number of proposals to the European Commission to provide for amendments to the headage schemes. One of these amendments proposes to confine from 1998 onwards the payment of headage and ewe premia in areas designated as degraded under the rural environment protection scheme to farmers participating in REPS which is operated by my Department. In the context of Partnership 2000, the farm bodies have agreed to the implementation of this measure.
In addition, I established a committee with a brief to agree a set of conservation conditions for blanket bogs, heaths and upland grasslands proposed as natural heritage areas under REPS. This committee had representation from my Department, the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht and other agricultural and environmental interests. Agreement was reached in October 1996 and provides, inter alia, for the setting down of sustainable stocking levels by the approved REPS planning agencies. My Department has recently commenced the training of REPS planning agencies in the application of this agreement at farm level. Further planner training will be arranged in the near future. I am confident that the application of this agreement will go a long way towards the establishment of sustainable stocking levels in these environmentally sensitive upland areas.