Vol. 496 No. 5
5 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if the EU has approved the proposed ewe cull scheme; the current position of this scheme; and if the Government will pay out a ewe cull scheme from State funds if approval from the EU is not forthcoming. [23335/98]
In conjunction with my colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, I announced earlier this week that interim arrangements had been agreed between our respective Departments to put a national framework plan in place for commonages in Counties Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Galway and Kerry. This interim plan is being put in place pending the completion of individual commonage framework plans and will incorporate the main environmental measures in the agri-environmental programme already agreed with the EU Commission. Under the national interim plan ewe premium quota rights in all of the commonages concerned will now be reduced by 30 per cent from 1998 levels.
As a consequence of this measure the farmers concerned will be able to apply for the new rural environment protection scheme, which provides for an annual payment of £80 per acre on the first 100 acres, £8 per acre on the next 100 acres and £6 per acre on the next 100 acres. These enhanced payments will be available to any farmer in the areas concerned wishing to join REPS and indeed to farmers already fully participating in REPS in those areas. The average payment for an existing REPS participant with 80 acres in the areas concerned will increase from £4,960 to £6,400 annually. The maximum payable will increase from £6,200 to £9,400 annually.
An alternative compensation scheme will be made available by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands for farmers who do not wish to join REPS. Application forms for the new REPS measure may be obtained from my Department's local offices where copies of the revised scheme document and specification will be available shortly.
All sheep farmers with mountain ewes who declared commonage land in the counties concerned on their 1998 area aid application have been identified and are now being written to by my Department. They are now required to reduce their mountain ewe numbers by at least 30 per cent of their 1998 quota. Arrangements have been made with the meat export slaughter plants to dispose of the ewes concerned between now and 4 December at no cost to the farmer. The 1999 ewe premium entitlement of the farmers concerned will be limited to 70 per cent of their 1998 quota and the 1999 sheep headage entitlement will be limited to 70 per cent of their 1998 entitlement.
The farmers concerned are already entitled to a payment of up to £300 under the winter fodder scheme for farmers with mountain breeding ewes. To assist sheep farmers who are subject to the 30 per cent reduction in quota I am making arrangements to pay an additional £10 per ewe on the 70 per cent balance of their quota. It is expected that all of these payments will be made during December.
Will the Minister agree that 30 per cent is extreme? Does he think it is fair that a person with 400 acres of land on a commonage will be subject to the same measures as somebody with 50 acres of land? The Minister said there will not be any cost to the farmer but the farmer will not get any money for the ewes when he brings them to the factory. The real winners in this scheme are the factory owners and transport companies. The Minister talked about the framework plan, and I hope to return to that subject again if the opportunity arises, but when will the Department have the framework plan up and running? Some months ago we had the ten acre rule. Farmers in these areas who could have been included in the REPS cannot put in a plan because they do not know what they will have to sign in relation to the framework plan. Furthermore, what is the Department doing about factories near the Border that are buying in lambs in the middle of the night? Does the Minister think that is fair? We are introducing a ewe cull scheme yet lambs are being brought in from another country in the middle of the night. Why do they not bring them in during the day so that we can see what they have? What is the Minister doing about that?
To answer the last question first, it would be wrong of us to object to somebody bringing in lambs as we are the biggest exporters to other countries.
Why are they doing it in the middle of the night?
We do not want to adopt the attitude of the Welsh and French farmers. I do not know why they are doing that but we must be careful how we react because we have to ensure other markets remain open to us.
The adoption of the new interim framework arrangements opens the way for farmers with commonages but there will be compensation. A total of £80 per acre is a great start and it is £20 more than was available under the existing scheme. With the additional moneys that will be paid, compensation is fair in that area. An additional £10 will be paid directly to sheep farmers, not to the factory. That is important because it is a way of getting money to them. Up to now it would have cost them money to have the animals killed. This will save on the fodder scheme but it is intended this scheme will end by 4 December. Approximately 150,000 to 200,000 ewes have to be taken off and in the interests of animal health, the perception of farmers, etc., that should be done as quickly as possible.
