In so far as direct payments in the form of arable aid and livestock premia are concerned, the Agenda 2000 agreement introduced a requirement on member states to take the environmental protection measures which they consider to be appropriate, based on a number of options, in relation to the land and production subject to the payments. One of these options is the observance of ‘general mandatory environmental requirements'.
In relation to compensatory payments, the Agenda 2000 agreement requires the beneficiaries to apply "usual good farming practice compatible with the needs to safeguard the environment and maintain the countryside, in particular by sustainable farming".
I have decided, in the light of Irish environmental conditions and, in particular, the extensive nature of Irish farming, that EU requirements in both cases referred to above can most appropriately be met by ensuring that existing national and EU environmental legislation is complied with. To this purpose, my Department's inspectors will, from this year, check for compliance when visiting farms for the purpose of implementing these schemes. In the case of compensatory payments, the arrangements have been submitted for approval by the European Commission in the Common Agricultural Policy rural development plan.