Written Answers Nos. 88-92
88. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) in County Galway will be paid under the basic payment scheme and if he has rectified issues surrounding a dual claim. [45580/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application under the Basic Payment Scheme was received in my Department from the person named on 14 May 2015. The processing of this application was recently finalised and payment has issued to the nominated bank account of the person named.
89. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide funding for persons (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45589/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am acutely aware of the difficulties farmers in flooded areas are experiencing in recent weeks.
My Department has put special arrangements in place to deal with animal welfare issues that might arise as a result of flooding and to deal with the flooding of slurry tanks that has occurred in a limited number of circumstances.
Where there is a potential animal welfare issue on farms, farmers are urged to contact the Department Animal Welfare Helpline. This helpline is aimed at providing assistance to farmers, and is dealing with farmers on a one-to-one basis where there is a risk of animal welfare. Farmers who are experiencing particular difficulty arising from the flooding should contact the helpline at Call Save 0761 064408 or Phone 01 6072379.
Alongside my Department’s Animal Welfare Helpline, I have asked Teagasc to provide dedicated on-farm practical advice and assistance to farmers in flooded areas and ensure farming operations are supported. Contact should be made using the helpline number 0761 113555.
I have also prioritised payments to farmers at this time. At this point, the vast majority of farmers have been paid over €1.2 billion in EU payments under the Basic Payment Scheme and the Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme (formerly Disadvantaged Areas Scheme) this year. Given that a completely new payment regime has been introduced, this is a significant achievement and I am committed to issuing remaining payments as individual issues are resolved around applications. Payments under other schemes such as REPS/AEOS have been made along with GLAS and Beef Data and Genomics Scheme payments which are being prioritised.
90. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a payment to a person (details supplied) under the areas of natural constraint scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45595/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application under the 2015 Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme was received from the person named on 22 April 2015. Processing of the application has recently been finalised and payment will issue shortly directly to the nominated bank account of the person named.
91. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and when financial instruments for on-farm capital investments will be in place. [45596/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am considering whether to include Financial Instruments (FIs) in Ireland’s Rural Development Programme. The funding for any such FIs would have to draw on Ireland’s existing RDP allocation of European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development funding as well as National Exchequer funding.
So far 7 Programmes from 5 Member States have implemented a FI for the current programme period. In order to include a FI as a measure in a RDP an Ex ante assessment is required by EU regulation. This assessment can take between 3 months to a year to complete.
Once this is done, an agreement must be reached between my Department and any other potential stakeholders/financial institutions on a clear investment strategy that is developed from the gaps, if any, identified in the ex ante assessment. Following this, a new measure description would have to be drafted and inserted into the RDP by way of an amendment. FIs can only be introduced to the RDP this way and currently only one amendment is allowed per year; this could mean that the FI assessment would not be completed in time for Ireland’s next amendment in 2016. The European Commission have, however, proposed a change to the Regulation in order to allow Member States to lodge a separate amendment to the RDP in respect of Financial Instruments and this will be decided on in the near future. While this would allow greater flexibility in terms of inserting an FI measure into the RDP, the timeframe from assessment to Commission approval means that the whole process could still take a year or more.
In the interim my Department has been exploring new and more competitive sources of funding for Irish Agriculture and will continue to do so in the context of evolving market requirements. For example, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, which includes the European Investment Bank as one of its funding partners, launched a new ‘Agriculture Investment Loans’ product earlier this year. This credit is available at favourable terms for investments by agricultural SMEs involved in primary agricultural production, the processing of agricultural products or the marketing of agricultural products. The features of these products compared with those currently on the market are lower interest rates, loan amounts up to €5 million and increased repayment flexibility. Of the almost €45 million in loans approved and drawn down by SMEs between March and end-June from the SBCI, a third has been accessed by the agricultural sector, including farmers.
92. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an appeal under the basic payment scheme by a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45617/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person named submitted an application for the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme on 28 May 2015. Having examined the application it was established that the person named did not qualify for Scottish Derogation as there was no verifiable evidence of production under the beef, dairy, arable or sheep sectors in 2013 which is a requirement to qualify under the scheme. The person named was notified of this decision and lodged an appeal. A letter issued from my Department on 14 December 2015 requesting additional information in support of this appeal. Upon receipt of the requested information a decision will be made regarding eligibility under Scottish Derogation and the person named will be notified accordingly.
