Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 April 2015
101. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the efforts he has made, to date, to secure leniency for Irish farmers from the European Union in relation to land eligibility and digitisation issues; his plans on this matter going forward; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13684/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the provisions of the Basic Payment Scheme, farmers need to declare an eligible hectare for each payment entitlement held in order to benefit from payment. The hectares declared must be eligible and must have an agricultural activity carried out on them. The main difficulty in relation to land eligibility arising from recent inspection experience is the lack of any farming activity on some land, particularly marginal land. It is a problem that can to some extent be solved by those farmers applying for payments on marginal lands. However, I am prepared to pursue options that may assist farmers, who have marginal lands, in particular those that have designated land, in meeting the requirements of the Direct Payment regulations. My Department officials are in direct contact with the EU Commission with a view to progressing the issue and looking at all possible options.
This year is an important year for farmers in that new payment entitlements will be allocated to applicants under the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme. In order to ensure that they will benefit from their full payment under this Scheme up to the end of this decade, farmers should ensure that the number of entitlements allocated corresponds to the number of eligible hectares on which there is and will continue to be an agricultural activity on their farms. The number of entitlements allocated under the BPS will be based on the eligible land declared in 2013 or 2015, whichever is the lower. There is, therefore, no incentive for farmers to increase the area they declare in 2015.
