€3bn Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS 4)

The Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mary Coughlan T.D., has launched the €3 billion Rural Environment Protection Scheme to protect the rural landscape, increase biodiversity and improve water quality.

The new Scheme was approved at the EU's Rural Development Committee on 24th July as part of Ireland's Rural Development Programme, after long, detailed and challenging negotiation with the European Commission.

The latest version of the Rural Environment Protection Scheme - REPS 4 - runs until 2013 and encourages farmers to enhance the environment through a range of actions including reduced use of fertilisers and pesticides, contributing to lower greenhouse gas emissions as well as improved water quality. The scheme also assists in maintaining existing hedgerows and planting new ones, growing crops to provide food for wild birds and preserving traditional breeds of animals.

"For generations, farmers and farm families have been the keepers of Ireland's rural landscape and rural environment" - Minister Coughlan said. "Modern farmers are very conscious of their responsibility for this heritage and they want to maintain it and pass it on to future generations. REPS helps them to do is. While the payments are made directly to farmers, the benefits are for society as a whole."

The Scheme is co-funded by the EU and the Irish taxpayer and Minister Coughlan highlighted the record level of funding - some €3 billion - provided for REPS over the seven years, 2007-2013 (more than €400 million on average per year). She said that the Government's commitment was clearly evident in the provision of €1.6 billion in national funding - up by €850 million from the national allocation in 2000-2006.

In line with the social partnership agreement - Towards 2016 - all payment rates - including those for Natura 2000 designated land - are increased by 17%, compared to REPS 3. This means that the average REPS farmer will get €7,220 a year in REPS 4 - while a farmer with 55 hectares will qualify for over €10,000.

Minister Coughlan said - "I am particularly pleased that the European Commission was able to accept my proposals for a mixed grazing measure, which will benefit sheep farmers. I had also been anxious to extend REPS to the more intensive farming sectors - including dairying - and I am very happy that this will now be possible under REPS 4."

REPS was first introduced in 1994 and has gone through a number of revisions, with each one increasing the emphasis on proactive measures, by which farmers have protected and improved the environment. REPS 4 continues this trend.

When REPS 3 - the last version of the Scheme - closed to new entrants in December 2006, there were over 59,000 farmers taking part. Thousands more are expected to join REPS 4 and Minister Coughlan said she was pleased that many farmers, who have been waiting for the opportunity for some time, will now be afforded the chance to do so.

EU supports €6.52bn rural plan

The European Commission is to back six-year rural development plans for Ireland North and South worth more than €6.52 billion. Some £500 million (€746 million) of this will be allocated by the Stormont Executive.
The EU rural development committee yesterday sanctioned the Republic's rural development package, which will focus on land management, the environment and increasing the competitiveness of the agri-food sector.
Some €2.33 billion of the funding will be provided by the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development and the balance will come from the national exchequer.
"This programme represents unprecedented investment in Irish agriculture and will enhance our rural environment and help to secure farmers' income into the future," said Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan.
"This €5.78 billion package is clear evidence of this Government's commitment to farmers and to rural life in Ireland."
The main aims of the rural development package are to support the development of rural areas, sustainable development and the provision of public goods.
The allocation will also back programmes aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change, ensuring a competitive agri-food sector, addressing structural problems in the industry and the need for on-farm capital investment; and boosting the quality of life in rural areas.
In Belfast, the announcement was welcomed by Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew.
"I am very pleased that our programme is not just the first programme across these islands to be approved, but is in the top 10 of all programmes to be approved so far by the European Commission." The Northern rural development plan comprises some 14 individual measures drawn up to back hard-hit local rural economies.
Ms Gildernew said she had pressed Commissioner Fischer Boel and Commission president José Manuel Barroso on the need for early approval of the proposed rural development plan when they visited Northern Ireland in May.
"The announcement represents recognition by Europe of how important rural communities are to the fabric of this region. It is also confirmation of how well President Barroso and Commissioner Fischer Boel listened to our needs during their visits earlier this year when the president announced his initiative to set-up a European Commission Taskforce. This taskforce is helping us get the most of our membership of the EU and is facilitating the early approval of the new round of EU Programmes 2007-13."

Dan Keenan & Jamie Smyth
© 2007 The Irish Times

Frank and open exchange of views - Gormley

Mr John Gormley TD Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government has reported on his discussions with the European Commissioner for the Environment, Stavros Dimas.

The Minister was meeting with the Commissioner to discuss a number of environmental issues. In particular, he was in Brussels to discuss infringement proceedings by the Commission against Ireland on the transposition into legislation and implementation of European directives - in particular the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive. There was also a discussion on water quality directives.

"I was pleased to meet Commissioner Dimas today and we had a long and frank exchange of views on a number of areas and we covered a lot of ground. I have assured Commissioner Dimas of my intention to solve our difficulties as we move forward.

"I explained to him my concern and willingness to resolve our problems - particularly under the Habitats and Birds Directive. I have asked for a road-map on how we can best avoid and deal with infringement proceedings going forward" - said Minister Gormley.

The Minister and the Commissioner also discussed the additional Reasoned Opinion which has been recently received from the EU Commission in relation to the transposition and implementation of the EU Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment.

Among a range of issues and examples, the Reasoned Opinion queries the exclusion of demolition works from Ireland's transposition of the Directive. As an example of this, it cites the Ministerial Directions of 12 June, 2007, in relation to the Lismullin national monument.

"The issues associated with Ireland's implementation of the EIA Directive are complex and have been ongoing for a number of years - and Lismullin has recently been cited in the additional opinion. This matter requires full and detailed consideration and we will be responding to the Commission as quickly as possible" - added Minister Gormley.

The Minister took the opportunity to discuss the international climate change agenda with Commissioner Dimas - "we both share the hope that a major step forward will be taken at the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in December.

"It is essential" - the Minister explained - "that we end informal exploratory discussions and commence a round of formal negotiations that will lead to a new treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. Time is getting very tight, in that the new treaty must be finalised in 2009, if we are to avoid a gap at the end of the Kyoto Protocol commitment period in 2012"

He added - "I assured the Commissioner of Ireland's full support for an ambitious international agenda for the period to 2020 and beyond - an agenda that will put the world on a definite path to a lower and more sustainable carbon existence.

"My meeting today with Commissioner Dimas was very useful and productive and I look forward to working with him into the future" - concluded Minister Gormley.

What can the EU do for your city?

How can European Union policies help towns and cities? How can towns and cities have a bigger say in implementing the policies? Find the answers in the European Commission's new guide for stakeholders, urban managers and anyone interested in urban issues.

The guide, entitled - 'Guide to the Urban Dimension in Community Policies - aims to help all involved to make best use of the opportunities EU policies offer. It identifies initiatives with direct and indirect implications for sustainable development of urban areas and provides a clear overview of the urban dimension of all Community policies over the current funding period, 2007-2013.

"The good governance of urban areas requires quality information. I am convinced that this guide is a key contribution" - Regional policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner says in the foreword to the Guide. The Commissioner will present the first draft of the Guide during the informal Council of Ministers of Urban Affairs - 24-25 May - in Leipzig, Germany.

The guide puts each policy in context and specifies relevant financial resources, exchange mechanisms and information sources available -

* Part One presents cohesion policy for 2007-2013 through its three financial instruments - the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Cohesion Fund.
* Part Two describes the urban dimension of Community policies conducted by other Directorates-General:

- Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities;
- the Environment;
- Research;
- Energy and Transport;
- the Information Society and Media;
- Education and Culture;
- Justice, Freedom and Security;
- Enterprise and Industry;
- Health and Consumer Protection;
- Agriculture;
- Competition;
- Internal Market - and
- EuropeAid.

This project was prepared by the Commission inter-service group on urban development, set up in December 2005. It is an up-to-date information tool on EU urban policies.