Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020
118. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress that has been made in the provision of interim measures under the present CAP for 2020 and 2021 until a new Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, is in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23965/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraDéanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire. My question relates to the interim measures. It is clear there will not be a CAP for a number of years. This relates to the areas of natural constraint, ANC. Will it be the same ANC, will it be just a rollover or will there be change? It also relates to the basic payment scheme, BPS, the green, low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, and so forth. The Minister might outline what will happen over the next few years, because farmers need to know so they can get on with their business.
The provision of interim CAP measures for the transitional period between the current rural development programme and the post-2020 CAP strategic plan is closely related to progress on the transitional regulations, which will provide a range of options for member states to deploy over the period.
Since their publication in November 2019, the transitional regulations have been subject to extensive discussions between the European Council, the European Parliament and the Commission. A common understanding was reached between the Council and Parliament on the text in June, including with regard to a transition period of two years' duration. The Commission position remains in favour of a one-year transition period. This issue will be finalised in tandem with the incorporation of the details of the 2021-27 EU budget into the transitional regulations once the budget has been agreed with the European Parliament, which is expected by the end of October.
In the meantime, I am currently considering the potential options available, as well as engaging with stakeholders for their views. We will have to ensure that what we do in the transitional period is consistent with programme for Government commitments, as well as providing a solid foundation for the development of our CAP strategic plan for the period to 2027. In addition, the very ambitious targets set out in the EU biodiversity strategy and the farm to fork strategy will have to be taken into account.
My ministerial colleagues and I intend to continue meetings with the farm bodies and stakeholders over the coming weeks to hear their views and, importantly, to get their input. I am also conscious that we have limited time to make decisions and implement workable solutions.
It is important that we can give certainty to farmers in the near future. Obviously, the budget and the Estimates campaign will be important in that regard. Working with my ministerial colleagues in government, I want to ensure that schemes can be replicated and income streams maintained for farmers, and in terms of framing the next CAP programme to ensure it contains schemes that continue to contribute substantially to incomes and to deliver on the various objectives from a sustainability point of view.
When we had the rural environment protection schemes, REPS, 1, 2, 3 and 4 followed by the agri-environment options schemes, AEOS, 1, 2 and 3 and then GLAS, a farmer could pass seamlessly from one to another. This became a fundamental part of the income of many farmers. Suddenly, at the end of GLAS there is nothing. Will we get an interim environmental measure? Farmers cannot wait. They have to feed families and they have to live. Will there be an interim environmental measure while we are waiting for the 2022-27 programme? In every other CAP we were able to roll over schemes into new schemes. I do not know why it did not happen in the last CAP.
This is something the Deputy has raised regularly in the past. I accept the importance of ensuring that the income stream from environmental schemes, which has been very important for farmers, continues. In addition, there are the environmental outcomes and contributions to biodiversity and we do not want to see a missed opportunity to ensure those outcomes continue. Certainly, it is my objective to ensure that we have a continuation into next year for those who are coming out of GLAS and that we do not have gaps as they emerge. I am looking at the options for how we do that and also at the programme for Government commitment to the introduction of a new scheme and how a pilot scheme would look.
The basic objective is to ensure a continuation for those coming out of GLAS in order that they will continue to be in an environmental scheme and be in a position to receive the income generated by that.
My understanding is that some people have come out of GLAS and been left high and dry. These people have depended on it for years. I know that GLAS was much smaller than previous schemes such as REPS, which was the biggest scheme, and REPS 4 in particular. Certain farmers have gone from €11,000 or €12,000 down to nothing. They are still adhering to the same very high environmental standards but their income stream is gone. People have to live and survive. Many of them are on high nature value land, but that land has relatively low productivity or its productivity is constrained by rules laid down by the Minister's Department.
The Minister referred to an aspiration that the transition period will only be one year. However, almost nobody in Europe believes that there will only be one year of transition. It will potentially be much longer and run into several years so it is important that we get this transition period right. I ask the Minister to quickly identify the schemes that will be available during the transition period because farmers need to know whether or not criteria will be changed. It is also important that the Minister outlines whether he personally has plans for the convergence process during the transition period, because clarity is required. We are getting very close to the transition period so to talk about consultations at this stage without some form of assurance on the type of funding to which Deputy Ó Cuív referred would be very unfair on farmers.
I thank Deputies Ó Cuív and Carthy. I indicated that the Commission has a preference for a one-year transition but it is becoming increasingly clear that a two-year transition will be required. If it is to be two years, it is important that we give clarity on the schemes and that the funding is there to ensure the income streams they produce for farmers continue as well. That will be an objective of mine over the coming weeks. I have been engaging comprehensively with farmer representative organisations to take on board their views on this matter, and I will continue to do so. A decision will be made in advance of the transition regulations being notified. I will be seeking to bring clarity regarding the schemes and other issues such as convergence when we get to that stage of agreeing the transition regulations.
