Title and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 and shall come into operation on 31st May 2008.

Interpretation

2.–(1) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(3) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

(2) In these Regulations, "the principal Regulations" means the Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005(4).

Amendment to the principal Regulations

3. The principal Regulations shall be amended as provided in regulations 4 to 6.

4. In regulation 2 (Interpretation)–

(a) for paragraphs (2) and (3) substitute–

"(2) In these Regulations–

"Commission Regulation 795/2004" means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 795/2004(5) laying down detailed rules for the implementation of the single payment scheme provided for in the Council Regulation;

"Commission Regulation 796/2004" means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 796/2004(6) laying down detailed rules for the implementation of cross-compliance, modulation and the integrated administration and control system provided for in the Council Regulation;

"Commission Regulation 1973/2004" means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1973/2004(7) laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1782/2003 as regards the support schemes provided for in Titles IV and IVa of that Regulation and the use of land set aside for the production of raw materials;

"the Council Regulation" means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1782/2003(8) establishing common rules for direct support under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers;

"the Department" means the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development;

"direct payment" has the meaning given by Article 2(d) of the Council Regulation;

"farmer" has the meaning given by Article 2(a) of the Council Regulation;

"holding" has the meaning given by Article 2(b) of the Council Regulation;

"IACS Regulations" means the Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes (Integrated Administration and Control System) Regulations 2005(9);

"reference period" has the meaning given to it in Article 38 of the Council Regulation;

"relevant competent authority" has the meaning given to it in regulation 5 of the IACS Regulations;

"single application" has the meaning given to it in Article 2(11) of Commission Regulation 796/2004;

"single payment scheme" means the support scheme established under Title III of the Council Regulation;

(3) Other expressions used in these Regulations that are also used in the Council Regulation, Commission Regulation 795/2004, Commission Regulation 796/2004 or Commission Regulation 1973/2004 have the meaning they bear in those instruments.";

(b) after paragraph (3) insert–

"(4) Any reference in paragraph (2) to a Community instrument is a reference to that instrument as amended from time to time.".

5. For Regulation 6 (10 month period), substitute–

"Date on which eligible land must be at the farmer´s disposal

6. In relation to any year in which the farmer makes a declaration in respect of parcels pursuant to Article 44(3) of the Council Regulation, the date on which those parcels must be at the farmer´s disposal is 15 May.".

6. Regulation 9 (Horticulture) shall be revoked.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 ("the principal Regulations"). The principal Regulations make provision in Northern Ireland for the administration of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1782/2003 (OJ No. L 270, 21.10.2003, p.1) ("the Council Regulation"), and a number of other EC instruments relating to the system of direct support schemes (including the Single Payment Scheme) which was introduced under the Common Agricultural Policy in 2005.

These Regulations revise regulation 2 (Interpretation) of the principal Regulations.

Regulation 5 replaces regulation 6 of the principal Regulations to remove provisions relating to the requirement for farmers claiming under the Single Payment Scheme to have parcels of land for which they are claiming at their disposal for a ten-month period. Article 44(3) of the Council Regulation was amended by Article 1(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 146/2008 (O.J. L 46, 21.2.2008, p. 1) with the effect that Member States now need only fix a single day in the year on which farmers must have at their disposal the parcels in respect of which they claim under the Scheme. The new provision fixes this day as 15th May of the scheme year in which the claim is made.

Regulation 6 of these Regulations revokes regulation 9 (Horticulture) of the principal Regulations to remove the provision which allows horticultural crops to be grown as a secondary crop. From 2008 horticultural crops are eligible to support claims on the same basis as any other eligible land use.