Assembly consent ensures direct payments to farmers will continue

Minister Edwin Poots addressing the Assembly during the Direct Payments to Farmers (Legislative Continuity) Bill on Monday night

Speaking in the Assembly chamber on Monday night Minister Edwin Poots opened the legislative consent motion relating to the Direct Payments to Farmers (Legislative Continuity) Bill by remarking: “Normally, I would have brought this motion within the established time frame, and I apologise to the House that that was not possible.

“We are under very tight time constraints if I wish to have the legislative authority to enable some £293 million to be paid in direct payments to farmers in the 2020 scheme this year.”

Mr Poots said: “It is crucial that there is no gap between the ending of the EU legislative basis for direct support to farmers in Northern Ireland this Friday and its replacement with domestic legislation.

“The Assembly will be fully aware of the importance of this support to the farming industry.

“The Scottish and the Welsh governments are also moving with speed through the necessary processes to ensure that legislative consent for the other two devolved institutions is also in place.

“Both devolved institutions have now given their consent — the Scottish Parliament on 16 January and the Welsh Assembly on 22 January.”

Mr Poots continued: “I should also inform the House that DEFRA intends to lay the two statutory instruments in Westminster on 31 January via the made affirmative procedure under the Bill so that they come into effect immediately after 31 January to address the failures and deficiencies arising from the EU law.

“I want to say something about the funding of direct payments. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced at the end of December 2019 that the UK government confirmed they will provide the same financial support to CAP pillar 1 for 2020 as for the 2019 scheme year. That provides Northern Ireland with some £293 million for the 2020 scheme year.

“That funding stream is ring-fenced in the block grant. It cannot be spent on anything else. It is very positive news, and I now need the legislative authority to be able to use this funding.” Mr Poots concluded: “To sum up, my view is that the bill’s provisions should extend and apply to Northern Ireland to ensure that the direct payments can continue to be made to farmers in Northern Ireland for the 2020 scheme year. I commend the motion to the House.”

Extending his best wishes to Minister Poots was the SDLP’s agriculture spokesperson John Dallat (East Londonderry).

He also highlighted the importance of the bill to rural communities in Northern Ireland and their spending power.

Mr Dallat said: “The farming industry is sustaining many of our small towns and villages.

“When other people are at work, it is the farmers who are packing into the cattle mart and spending their money in cafes, shops and hardware stores, and giving badly needed work to the rest of the rural community. What is going to happen if these payments are withdrawn some time in the future? I worry about that, because there has been an erosion of our rural communities already, and we should be doing everything possible to sustain the agriculture industry, which is the heart of that community.”