Written Answers Nos. 9-12
9. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the impact the recent changes in the tax regime for farmers will have on encouraging transfer of lands to the next generation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42999/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraTaxation policy is primarily a matter for the Minister for Finance. However I have on-going contact with Minister Noonan to ensure that tax policy reflects the Government’s commitment to agriculture. In this regard I am pleased that the Minister and I could facilitate the Agri-taxation Review, which was published as part Budget 2015. It gave us a unique opportunity to examine a critical element of Government support to the agriculture sector in the context of the strategy of expansion and increasing exports under Food Harvest 2020.
The Review provides a strong evidence base for continued assistance to the primary sector through taxation measures and it is a clear strategy with specific policy objectives for the future. The Government’s commitment to agriculture is evidenced by the immediate implementation of the majority of the Report’s recommendations in Budget 2015, including 12 new measures, which form part of a strategic policy response to the opportunities and challenges ahead.
One of the taxation policy objectives identified by the Review is to assist succession. The age profile of Irish farmers is increasing and it is recognised that there are many social and economic reasons why succession management is a challenge for farmers. Assisting succession and the transfer of farms has been a central part of the Government’s agri-taxation policy and Budget 2015 included a number of measures to maintain and strengthen that support, specifically:
- The retention and targeting of Agricultural Relief from Capital Acquisitions Tax to active farmers or to those who lease out land long-term.
- The retention and enhancement of Retirement Relief from Capital Gains Tax, including two new measures:
- The extension of the eligible letting period of a qualifying asset to 25 years.
- For transfers other than to a child under Retirement Relief, as a once-off measure until the end of 2016, the inclusion of conacre lettings as eligible. I believe that this measure is significant. It will allow farmers who have been engaged in conacre to avail of Retirement Relief if they transfer or move to long-term leasing before the end of 2016, thereby giving exit options to a large cohort of farmers.
- The retention of the current stamp duty exemptions on transfers of land, including the extension of Stamp Duty Consanguinity Relief, i.e. relief to related persons, on non-residential transfers to the end of 2017.
I am confident that the package of measures introduced in Budget 2015, the most substantial package of this kind ever introduced in a single budget, will lead to a more efficient and productive sector. This is an exciting time for Irish agriculture, especially for young farmers, and I expect the impact of these measures to be felt for a generation to come.
10. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on foot of his recent trade mission to China on the potential for seafood exports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43012/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 5 November, following a meeting with Chinese Vice Minister Niu Dun who has responsibility for Fisheries, I was privilaged to open the largest ever Irish pavilion at the China Fisheries Show in Qingdao, the second largest trade show globally for the international seafood sector. An estimated 25,000 visitors from 100 nations were forecast to attend the show, with no other exhibition of its type in Asia coming close to matching its size or success. When the inaugural China Seafood and Fisheries Expo was held in 1996, China's total international seafood trade was worth under €3 billion. In 2013, China's seafood trade had surpassed €20 billion in value, cementing China's position as the world's leading seafood trading country. Growing incomes and increased urbanisation in the world’s second biggest economy have helped fuel a massive growth in demand for imported seafood. The United Nations FAO predicts that China will need an extra 16 million metric tons of seafood by 2020 to meet this growing demand from a swelling middle class, which is expected to reach 500 million by 2020.
Irish seafood exports to China & Hong Kong grew by an impressive 46% in 2013 to reach €17 million. China continues to be a growing market for Irish seafood and is currently our tenth largest export market, demonstrating value growth of over 300% between 2011 to 2013. This strong trend in Irish exports to the region is continuing in 2014 with sales for the first 6 months of 2014 up 56% compared to the same period in 2013.
Whilst traditionally the Chinese market has been important for the Irish seafood industry predominantly for the sale of pelagic species, in the last 3 years significant effort has been invested by Irish processors and Bord Bia to identify and develop opportunities for premium shellfish in this growing market for seafood, notably for shellfish such as live and processed brown crab, langoustines, scallops and razor fish. Considerable success has been secured by a number of the leading Irish shellfish processors in penetrating this market, as demonstrated by the strong growth in the value of exports to the region. Exports of shellfish to China, for example, increased in value by 201% between 2012 and 2013 and by 117% to Hong Kong during the same period.
As the demand for premium seafood in China continues to grow and Chinese consumption of aquatic products continues to outpace growth in production of such products, Ireland is well placed to capitalise on the growing opportunity for Irish seafood in this market. Through the offices of Bord Bia, Ireland has ambitious plans to further grow the share of Irish seafood into China and has a number of programmes in place to assist Irish seafood processors in identifying, profiling and targeting new customers that are willing to pay a premium for quality seafood from Ireland.
11. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will confirm the risk of financial corrections being imposed by the European Commission on undergrazing on commonages. [43014/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraEach year farmers in Ireland benefit from funding of over €1.5 billion under Schemes such as the Single Farm Payment Scheme, the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme, the Agri-Environment Schemes, etc. This comprises the entire net income of many thousands of Irish farmers. The Deputy will be aware that following consultation with the EU Commission, as part of the normal Accounting process, my Department was requested to undertake a complete review of the LPIS database. This on-going review is of major significance as the Commission is seeking to disallow €181m of funding to Ireland relating to payments over the past 5 years this is currently the subject of an Irish appeal to the EU Conciliation Body.
The European Commission has an obligation to ensure that Member States manage and use the EU funding granted to them in accordance with the very restrictive provisions governing the Direct Aid Schemes and general financial provisions. All of the lands declared by farmers must be eligible if these lands benefit from payment under one of more or these Schemes. Under the Terms and Conditions of the Direct Aid Schemes, which includes the Single Payment scheme, farmers are obliged to declare only eligible land when making their applications, and to exclude ineligible features such as roads, buildings, farmyards, dense scrub, etc. Furthermore, farmers are reminded that they should not declare for payment purposes land, which they are no longer farming. It is not sufficient to simply exclude the ineligible features from the declarations submitted as lands, which are no longer being farmed and/or is abandoned should also be excluded.
To ensure the eligibility of lands declared, farmers must maintain lands through normal farming practices such as cropping, cutting hay/silage or grazing by animals with an appropriate stocking rate to control invasive species. In the case of Commonage lands farmers must therefore ensure that l ands are kept adequately grazed in order to ensure that the commonage retains the area eligible for payment.
Commonage lands form a significant area of the lands declared annually by some 14,936 farmers in Ireland for the purposes of claiming under the Direct Aid Schemes, with approximately 7% of the lands declared nationally being commonage lands. However, due to reasons such as previous destocking requirements and the age profile of farmers on commonage lands, there is a growing risk of land abandonment on commonages as under-grazing becomes more of a problem. It is therefore the case that the increasing ineligibility of these lands under the Single Payment Scheme and other Direct Payment Schemes poses a significant risk to the State in view of the risk of financial corrections being imposed by the European Commission.
However, from 2015 onwards, a minimum grazing requirement, equivalent to at least one ewe per 1.5 hectares, will be required of all those applicants declaring marginal lands including commonage under the Basic Payment Scheme and the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme. A lower grazing level will be fixed for marginal lands where it is necessary on environmental grounds. These requirements must be met by each individual claimant by end December 2015 at the latest. The minimum grazing requirement must be met in order to qualify for the Basic Payment Scheme and the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme under the new CAP.
In 2015, I would strongly urge all farmers to ensure that all of the land that they declare is eligible and is farmed by them. The entitlements established under the Basic Payment Scheme will be based on the eligible hectares declared in 2015. In order to protect their payments in the subsequent years, farmers should exclude all ineligible areas from their declarations. In that case, the newly established entitlements will be supported by land which is eligible for payment in order to draw down their full payment entitlement in 2015 and subsequent years. This would also reduce the risk of further financial corrections in the future.
12. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if recommendation has been made to him in relation to the licence application lodged by Bord Iascaigh Mhara for a salmon farm in Galway Bay; when he expects to make a decision on this application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42802/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) for an aquaculture licence for the cultivation of finfish near Inis Oirr in Galway Bay was received by my Department in 2012. The application and its accompanying Environmental Impact Statement are being considered under the provisions of the 1997 Fisheries (Amendment) Act and the 1933 Foreshore Act. A determination in respect of the application will be made as soon as possible following completion of the necessary assessment process. This assessment process will take full account of all national and EU legislative requirements and will reflect the full engineering, scientific, environmental, legal and public policy aspects of the application.
The fullest consideration is being given to all submissions received as part of the statutory and public consultation stages of the process.
There is always a strict separation between my Ministerial role as decision maker in respect of aquaculture licence applications and my Ministerial duty to promote the sustainable development of the industry. This separation of duties is strictly observed.
As the application is under active consideration as part of the statutory process it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this time.
