DEAR SIR,

The Disadvantaged Farmers Legal Challenge group is delighted to read that the Department of Agriculture has proposed that scrub and other non-agricultural features be included in the definition of an eligible hectare in the next CAP.

The article in the Irish Farmers Journal dated 29 May makes for an interesting read for thousands of farmers who, especially over the past eight to nine years and during the reference years for previous CAP reforms, had these valuable features taken off them, as they had been deemed “ineligible”.According to European Council and Commission regulations, we believe that habitats, hedgerows, trees, indigenous plants and other landscape features which have been labelled “scrub” in recent years, should have always remained eligible for payment under the Single Payment Scheme and subsequent Basic Payment Scheme. Land which is maintained in good agricultural and environmental condition has historically been and should continue to be eligible for farm subsidy payments. The environmental protection is just as important as the agricultural activity. Members of the Disadvantaged Farmers Legal Challenge took these issues to the High Court. The proceedings are still ongoing.

The Department’s proposal to make non-agricultural features eligible again shows a change of heart which is very welcome and long overdue.