The dates for the first regional information meetings for farmers regarding the 2015 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) have been announced by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney.
The Department said that it will be holding a series of information meetings in March relating to CAP implementation.
There will be 14 meetings with the first beginning on March 9, 2015 in Letterkenny Co. Donegal at the Radisson Blu Hotel. The Department said that the meetings will be held between March 9 and March 31.
“The purpose of the meetings is to provide information to farmers on future requirements in relation to the Basic Payment Scheme under Pillar I and the Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS) scheme under Pillar II of the CAP,” the Department has said.
A further four meetings will be held after from March 10 to March 13 will be held in Athlone (Hodson Bay), Trim (Knightsbridge Hotel), Newbridge (Keadeen Hotel) and Kilkenny (Newpark Hotel), it said. All meetings will begin at 8pm.
The Department has also said that the other locations intended for meetings are Wexford, Tipperary, Cork, Killarney, Limerick, Galway, Castlebar, Sligo and Cavan.
“This is an important opportunity for farmers to inform themselves on how the key elements of the new CAP reform arrangements will operate. They will have an opportunity to obtain information and advice in relation to the new Basic Payment Scheme, National Reserve, Greening and the new GLAS agri-environmental scheme.
“In the case of greening and on-line applications, farmers will also be facilitated in obtaining advice on a one-to-one basis from Department staff, which will be available during the afternoons at the same venues,” Minister Coveney said.