The €25m Budget 2018 increase for the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) scheme may be targeted towards some of the 100,000 farmers participating in the scheme only, Department of Agriculture officials revealed on Tuesday.

Asked at an Oireachtas hearing by Roscommon/east Galway Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice how the funds would be allocated Department assistant secretary Brendan Gleeson said: “The options range from a flat rate increase for everybody to targeting the increases for farmers in more disadvantaged areas. There’s a range of options being considered at the moment, but no decision has been made yet.”

Spreading the additional budget evenly would result in around €250 extra for each farmer eligible to ANC.

Omnibus legislation

Gleeson said the Department would make a decision before the so-called omnibus legislation under adoption at EU level to adjust several CAP rules comes into force early next year, because that would affect the way ANC money can be spent.

Any money that is there should definitely go to the most disadvantaged areas

Separately, he said the omnibus legislation would introduce an option for each country to shave off a portion of all BPS payments to introduce new targeted support schemes for disadvantaged farmers.

“It would be technically possible to apply a linear cut across all direct payments and fund a variety of categories of disadvantage,” Gleeson said.

However, he did not indicate that the Department had any plans to use this option.

Additional funding

Commenting on the €25m ANC increase for 2018, IFA rural development chair Joe Brady said it is important that the payments go to those farmers who are most in need. He said the additional funding partly restores cuts that took place in Budget 2009 and the IFA wants to ensure the payment rates reflect the natural handicap and also deal with supporting low farm incomes.

John Moran from the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) said monies should be targered.

“Any money that is there should definitely go to the most disadvantaged areas. We have to farm for the public good and the environmental good but we have challenges that other farmers simply don’t. Any more that is available should go to the most disadvantaged farms.”

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