Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 11 Nov 2003

Vol. 574 No. 1

Written Answers. - Grant Payments.

Seymour Crawford

Ceist:

221 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will examine the case of a person (details supplied) in County Monaghan; if this person and others in this situation can be catered for under the mid-term review of Agenda 2000 and decoupling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26398/03]

Minister for Agriculture and Food (Mr. Walsh):

Following the Agenda 2000 mid-term review agreement, I decided that all direct payments would be fully decoupled from production as and from 1 January 2005. With effect from 2005, the decoupled payment, which is to be known as the single payment scheme, is to be based on the average number of animals or the average number of hectares in the case of arable aid on which payments were made under the livestock premia and arable aid schemes in respect of the three reference years 2000, 2001 and 2002.

The 2000 headage schemes and the 2001 and 2002 area-based compensatory allowance schemes are not included in the single payment scheme calculation. This scheme continues as before. The single payment is calculated by taking the three yearly average number of animals-arable hectares which attracted payment and multiplying them by the payment rate for 2002 in respect of livestock or by €383.04 per hectare in the case of arable aid. Entitlements are established by dividing this single payment amount by the average number of hectares over the three-year period. Farmers for whom entitlements have been established must activate those entitlements in 2005 by continuing to farm and submitting an area aid declaration in that year.

It appears the person named commenced farming in 1997 and was paid cattle headage, special beef premium and extensification premium under the 1997 and 1998 schemes. From 1999 to 2001, inclusive, he was paid under the cattle headage or area based compensatory allowance scheme only. In 2002, he received payment under the area-based compensatory allowance scheme and the slaughter premium scheme. There is no record in my Department of an application to the suckler cow reserve having been received from the person named in any of the years 1999 to 2002, inclusive. He applied to the 1998 reserve, but was not accepted because there was insufficient quota in the reserve to allow allocations to be made to applicants whose livestock units exceeded 15, which was the position in his case. His livestock units were determined at 38.4. He could, of course, have leased or bought in quota in those years. He applied to the 2003 reserve and was allocated seven quota rights, which was the maximum allocation to any qualifying applicant in 2003 due to the low level of rights available in the reserve.

The person named will have entitlements established in accordance with EU rules based on the animals which attracted payment under the 2002 slaughter premium scheme. However, since he was farming during the entire reference period, the number of animals and hectares declared must be averaged over the three years when calculating his entitlements. He may apply to the national reserve when it becomes available, but priority must be given to new entrants to farming who commenced farming after 31 December 2002 because they would not have been in a position to establish any entitlements in their own right. He may, of course, purchase or lease in entitlements from 2006 onwards if he so wishes.