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The European Commission is currently considering increasing the maximum amount of aid national governments can give to farmers under the de minimis rule from €15,000 to €25,000 per farmer.
Many farmers will be familiar with the rule, as the Department of Agriculture used it to make emergency funding available outside regular CAP schemes in times of crisis to compensate farmers in Donegal affected by flooding last year and more recently to fund the Fodder Transport Scheme.
The move is in response to calls from member states and it is hoped that the increased payment limit would allow for the rapid and simple distribution of funds in times of need.
Each farm holding could receive up to €25,000 from their national government over a three-year period and the funding would be provided from the application of 1.5% tariff on annual agricultural output.
A safeguard would be in place to prevent one single sector in a country receiving over 50% of the national de minimis aid.
The EU also plans to create a central registries office to monitor the funds at member state level to keep account of the withdrawal and distribution of aid.
A public consultation runs until 16 April and the Commission is currently seeking the opinion of public authorities and stakeholders who have previous experience with de minimis funding.
It is hoped that the proposal to increase the limit to €25,000 will be adopted this summer.
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