Minister Walsh and IFA clash on REPS cut

By Paul Mooney

Sharp differences emerged this week on the issue of a possible cut of up to €30 million in REPS payments to farmers in commonage and other SAC areas.

"There have been a number of misleading statements recently in relation to the cutting of EU support payments to commonage shareholders with losses of many millions of euro allegedly being faced by such farmers,'' Minister for Agriculture Joe Walsh said in a letter to MEP and election candidate Sean O Neachtain.

"The facts of the matter are that there are no proposals to penalise farmers,'' he said. However, IFA yesterday (Wednesday) challenged the Minister to give a firm guarantee to farmers that they would not lose out with the introduction of the new Single Farm Payment next year.

Western chairman Martin Gavin highlighted one category of farmers, those who were destocked by 30% in 1998 - before the reference years for the new SFP - and who since joined REPS.

"The Minister is giving a choice to these 700 farmers to either take their full SFP based on their Ewe quota at that time and take a cut in their REPS, or else to take a reduced SFP and maintain their full REPS payment. This approach is penalising these farmers and is totally unacceptable, he said.

In his letter to Sean O Neachtain Joe Walsh stated that in setting up the Single Payment Scheme his Department intends to use the average amount paid in the reference years 1997/1998 for all farmers currently participating in the National Compensation Scheme.

Compensation

"This means that the farmers concerned will get the benefit of the Ewe numbers that they had prior to the destocking that took place at the end of 1998. This will have to be offset by a reduction in the level of compensation payable from 2005 onwards by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government,'' he said.

"The farmers concerned will not therefore suffer any loss.''

He said that alternatively, for those farmers who are currently participating in REPS and who had reduced sheep numbers during the reference period 2000-2002 the Department intended to use that reference period in calculating the SFP.

"This means that the single payment will be based on years when sheep numbers were reduced but the intention is that the farmers concerned, if they entered into REPS contracts before January 2005, will be entitled to keep the existing payment under Measure A for the duration of those contracts.''

Individual farmers in this category will of course be able to apply to my Department to exercise the option outlined earlier, he said.