25th February 2015

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, today announced further details regarding the implementation of the Scottish Derogation Provision of the Basic Payment Regulation.

The Minister said: ‘For a variety of reasons, a number of active farmers did not establish entitlements under the Single Payment Scheme and consequently do not hold an Allocation Right for the purposes of establishing entitlements under the new Scheme. To exclude such farmers from the Basic Payment Scheme would place these farmers at a significant disadvantage. After intensive negotiation with the EU Commission, I am pleased that we can now cater for this group of farmers under the provision known as the Scottish Derogation.’

The Direct Payment Regulation includes the option for Member States to allocate payment entitlements to persons who never held entitlements under the Single Payment Scheme but who actively farmed in 2013, the so-called Scottish Derogation.

In line with the support granted under all previous Pillar I schemes, this provision is only available to persons who undertook their agricultural activity within the beef, dairy, sheep or arable sectors. Farmers applying under this measure will be required to provide verifiable evidence of such production during the 2013 scheme year.

The application process for the Scottish Derogation will be made available in April of this year and will be by way of an online facility. Further details will be announced in due course.

The Minister concluded: ‘I am delighted to be able to confirm the implementation of the Scottish Derogation to facilitate access to the Basic Payment Scheme to active farmers who would otherwise be excluded. I encourage all farmers who believe they may be eligible under this scheme to register with the Department’s online facility (www.agfood.ie) and to submit a relevant application in due course.’