15 Noll 2014, 14:08
Committee to also consider issues around special area designation for hen harriers
15 December 2014
A European Commission consultation on state aid to the fishery and aquaculture sector will be considered tomorrow afternoon by the Oireachtas Joint Committee Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will outline Ireland’s response to the draft guidelines, which give specific recognition to natural disasters and ‘exceptional occurrences’.
Committee Chairman Andrew Doyle TD says: “The objective of the consultation is to collect stakeholder views on the draft Guidelines, which relate to all State aid granted by Member States to the fishery and aquaculture sector under EU law. Given that the existing Guidelines were last updated in 2008, it is important that the Committee informs Ireland’s approach to the current consultation process.
“Of particularly interest are the indications by the Commission that it may accept aid to make good the damage caused by adverse climatic events. This is particularly relevant given that fishing communities in Ireland were been disproportionately impacted by the severe weather at the start of this year. Committee Members will be keen to ensure that any new guidelines for the sector are sensible and proportionate and come with the minimum possible bureaucratic impediments when state aid needs to be urgently dispensed.”
Separately, the Committee will meet with representatives from Irish Farmers with Designated Land.
Deputy Doyle continues: “Under the EU Birds Directive, a total of 169,000 hectares of farmland has been designated a Special Conservation Area to protect the hen harrier. Irish Farmers with Designated Land claim that these changes have served to dramatically devalue the land of about 4,000 farmers. The lands are located mainly in Munster and the IFDL representatives have in the past argued that impacted farmers have been left without adequate compensation. The Committee looks forward to hearing from IFDL representatives tomorrow to explore with them how a satisfactory outcome might be achieved. ”
The meeting takes place tomorrow afternoon Tuesday 16 December in Committee Room 3, LH 2000 at 2pm. It will commence with engagement with Department Officials on State Aid guidelines. Proceedings can be viewed online here.
View Committee Membership.
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Paul Hand,
Communications Unit,
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Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 4484
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paul.hand@oireachtas.ie