Farmers want the maximum compensation payment from the European funded Rural Environmental Protection scheme.
Joe Gaffey farms 44.5 hectares of grazing land beside Clara Bog in County Offaly. Just under half of this land skirts or is part of the bog and he has left the environmentally sensitive part of his land as it is. In return for leaving the bog as a wild area, he is seeking compensation.
As long as we get a reasonable income from it, the same as we get from the reclaimed ground.
Joe Gaffey is one of many farmers that can apply for grants under the European Community (EC) Rural Environmental Protection (REP) Scheme which is expected to operate in Ireland from early 1994.
Under this scheme Minister for Agriculture, Joe Walsh has proposed a payment of £125 per hectare for farmers who carry out an environmental management plan on their farm.
Chairman of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) Rural Development Committee, Ivan Sheppard is unhappy with this level of compensation for farmers. He states the Minister agreed to pay the maximum payment laid down by the EC of £244 per hectare.
The Department of Agriculture will not confirm the final figure until negotiations are concluded in Brussels.
The IFA believes it is essential that farmers get every encouragement to partake in the REP Scheme. If the maximum payment is not made, the scheme will not attract farmers in sufficient numbers.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 11 August 1993. The reporter is Tom Kelly.
