REPS top-up agreed

Nephin sheep farmers get their REPS 4 top-up

Anton McNulty

NEPHIN sheep farmers were celebrating a significant victory last week when it was announced that the Departments of the Environment and Agriculture were reversing their initial decision not to pay REPS 4 farmers a top-up payment for keeping their sheep off the hills for five months of the year.
In 2006, over 300 farmers along the Nephin Range agreed with the Department of the Environment to de-stock their sheep from the hills during the months of November and December, and from February 15 until May 15 to allow the habitat to recover. During negotiations, the Department of the Environment agreed to pay the farmers a top-up payment of €2,000 for the five months the sheep were off the hill, until the end of the scheme in November 2011.
However, farmers coming out of REPS 2 and 3 and entering REPS 4 were later informed by the Department of Agriculture that they would not receive the top-up payments. Many farmers felt the Department had reneged on their agreement and threatened to withdraw co-operation with the Department of the Environment.
Representatives of the Nephin farmers and the IFA met with senior officials from both Departments and, despite the Departments initially saying they would not back down, a resolution was reached last week to pay farmers in REPS 4 the top-up payment.
Cllr Michael Holmes, who was part of the negotiating team on behalf of the farmers, said that sheep farmers along the Nephin range were relieved the impasse was resolved and added that farmers who were in REPS 4 will receive a back payment of the top-up they were initially denied.
“There was huge relief on the part of the farmers when they heard they will get this top-up because the cost of fodder and fertiliser has gone through the roof. There are about 130 sheep farmers along the Nephin Range who are in REPS and at this stage 25 per cent of them would be changed over to REPS 4 or in the process of changing over. However, the problem was that with every passing month that percentage was increasing. We kept the pressure on and I welcome this resolution but it is still only what the farmers are entitled to,” he said.
The resolution was also welcomed by Mr Martin Gavin, Chairman of Mayo IFA who told The Mayo News that getting the Department to agree to pay the farmers was a significant achievement and added the payment was worth €1.5 million for the area up to 2011. He also explained that the Department were adamant that the scheme would not continue after 2011 but he said the IFA would not accept that situation.
Martin also explained that the IFA were continuing to negotiate with the Department of Agriculture and the National Parks and Wildlife Service for a similar package in the Maam Turk and Twelve Bens Mountain Range in Connemara. He said the difference between the two schemes was that there were limited lowland holdings in Connemara compared to Nephin and the majority of farmers were full-time hill sheep farmers. He said that the access to sheep-sheds was limited and they were trying to negotiate a deal which would allow flexibility in allowing sheep to be on the hills during the winter.