A new State Aid application for an extension of the deadline for completion of works under the Farm Waste Management Scheme could be successful if actively pursued by the Government.

This was stated by Marian Harkin MEP when she said that correspondence with EU Agriculture Commissioner Ms. Mariann Fischer Boel and discussions at EU Commission level indicated the possibility of an extension to the December 31st deadline.

“My contacts at EU level have indicated to me that a possibility exists to achieve the vitally necessary extension to the yearend deadline”, she said.

The mechanism that could achieve that result would be a new State Aid application, she said, and could be successful as extending the deadline represented a win win outcome for the EU and the Irish Government, she said.  The exceptional weather conditions coupled with the pressure on rural based builders, despite the downturn in the construction section, had led to difficulty in completing projects, she said.

She had written to the Ministers for Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment to emphasise the need for all approved projects to be completed.  “The EU and the general public will benefit from a cleaner environment while our farmers and rural areas will benefit from being better able to fulfil  environmental obligations and ensure maximum contribution to the economic development of rural areas”, Marian Harkin MEP

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Copy of letter sent to Minister for Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment.

Dear Minister,

Having regard to the tremendous effort being made by farmers to build the facilities necessary to ensure that their activities do not damage the environment, and to the special economic and weather related factors which have delayed projects under the Farm Waste Management Scheme, I am asking that the Government does all in its power to ensure an extension of the deadline for the completion of works.

This scheme is hugely important from an environment point of view but it is also a most significant contributor to the rural economy and employment in the construction industry.  EU Agriculture Commissioner Ms. Fischer Boel, in a letter to me, suggested that ‘applicable community state aid rules appear to deny an extension’ to the December  31st deadline.  The use of the word appear led me to relevant contacts in the European Commission and as a result I believe that a further application under the State Aids mechanism could prove acceptable to the Commission.

Bearing in mind:
(a) the importance of securing the maximum farm related environmental controls,
(b) the adverse weather related building conditions this year
(c) the difficulty in obtaining contractors until recent times and
(d) the huge importance of utilising the construction sector to the maximum to sustain the economy in rural areas, I would ask you to seriously consider the development of a new State Aid application.

This would be a win win decision for the EU and the Irish Government and I believe that diligently pursued it would result in a positive outcome for the farmers concerned, for the environment, for Ireland’s agricultural and rural policies and for securing the environmental objectives of the EU.

I earnestly request that you pursue this strategy with your Government colleagues and secure an outcome which will be in the national interest.

    Yours sincerely,

    Marian Harkin MEP