Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 January 2017
184. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the proposals, he has put forward to the European Commission and-or at the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers in relation to the review of areas of natural constraint; the status of such proposals; the current status of the EU review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3610/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraArticle 32 of EU Regulation 1305/2013 requires all member states to implement a new system for designating eligible areas under the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme from 2018 at the latest. At present, eligible land under the scheme is designated by reference to criteria such as stocking density, family farm income, population density and the percentage of the working population engaged in agriculture.
Under the new system of designation which must be introduced in 2018, eligible areas will have to be designated on the basis of biophysical criteria. The criteria set out in the legislation are:
- Low temperature
- Dryness
- Excess soil moisture
- Limited soil drainage
- Unfavourable texture and stoniness
- Shallow rooting depth
- Poor chemical properties
- Steep slope.
My Department has commenced work on this project, and relevant technical experts are currently sourcing and analysing the data in relation to the new criteria. This analysis will identify areas deemed to be facing natural constraints, which will in parallel, be subjected to a refinement process via fine tuning. As part of this process, my officials have been in direct contact with the EU Commission and its science and knowledge service, the Joint Research Centre.
Once this process is complete, the draft data will provide the basis for the identification of eligible areas for ANC. It is envisaged that stakeholders will be consulted as this process develops. The regulatory requirement is for the new system to be implemented for payment under the 2018 scheme.
