Madam, – I refer to the letter from Mr Daran Gibney (July 29th).
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD, has consistently made the point that the decision to close entry to the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme to new entrants was a budgetary decision, that reflects the current extreme pressures on the public finances. Far from withdrawing funding from Reps, some €1 billion will be allocated to the scheme over the next three years, in addition to the €3 billion that will have been paid out under the scheme by the end of this year since its introduction in 1994.
Your correspondent suggests that the Government’s decision may have compromised Ireland’s access to EU funding. Earlier this month, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food submitted a revised Rural Development Plan (RDP) to the EU Commission which will ensure that all available EU funding to Ireland is fully accessed and allocated to schemes to the benefit of Irish farmers.
The revised RDP specifically includes a new agri-environment scheme, which will involve funding both from the EU and the Exchequer, and will be targeted principally on those coming out of Reps. – Yours, etc,