Under the new Agri-Environment Options Scheme which I have launched today, farmers will be paid to undertake identifiable and verifiable environmental actions and have a menu of options from which to choose. The Government has provides for the launch of the new scheme at a rate of up to €5,000 for approximately 10,000 participants.
Generally speaking, the amount any farmer participating in the AEOS will be paid will depend on the number of individual actions he or she undertakes. I am satisfied that many participants will have the opportunity to reach the maximum payment of €5,000. I am confident that very many others will get very close to that figure. In the current economic climate, I believe the Scheme will be attractive to farmers and will also deliver real, worthwhile environmental benefits.
The new Scheme was approved by the European Commission, as part of an amendment to the Rural Development Programme 2007–13, after several months of detailed and difficult negotiations involving officials of my Department. Any substantive changes to the amended RDP would require further negotiations with the Commission. Following discussions with the farming organisations, however, I have asked my officials to take up some points of detail with the Commission with a view to getting their agreement to changes.