A pilot of the “REPS mark II” scheme will start by the end of this year, with money potentially flowing to farmers in early 2021, the Irish Farmers Journal can reveal. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party agreed to ringfence a significant €1.5bn in carbon taxes for REPS mark II, a new flagship environmental scheme for Irish farming.
A pilot of the “REPS mark II” scheme will start by the end of this year, with money potentially flowing to farmers in early 2021, the Irish Farmers Journal can reveal.
Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party agreed to ringfence a significant €1.5bn in carbon taxes for REPS mark II, a new flagship environmental scheme for Irish farming.
The 2021 scheme will be a test run ahead of Ireland’s national plan for the next CAP. The pilot scheme will be open to most farmers, including those exiting GLAS next year.
On top of the €1.5bn in carbon taxes, the new scheme will also be funded from Pillar II (Rural Development Programme) of the CAP, along with co-funding from the Irish Government.
These three strands will give it a considerable financial war chest.
There is a target of 70,000 farmers for the scheme, which will incentivise farmers to deliver benefits for the environment and biodiversity.
Planting pockets of native trees will be integral to the scheme, which will be both action and results-based.
Farmers from across the sectors will be able to apply for the new REPS including dairy farmers. However, it’s understood derogation dairy farmers are likely to be excluded.
Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has said that “for some farms regulations, not schemes, will be appropriate”.
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