Title and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 and shall come into operation on 15 May 2010.

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–

"Commission Regulation 1120/2009" means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1120/2009(4) laying down detailed rules for the implementation of the single payment scheme provided for in Title III of Council Regulation (EC) No. 73/2009 establishing common rules for direct support schemes for farmers under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers;

"Commission Regulation 1122/2009" means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1122/2009(5) laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation 73/2009 as regards cross-compliance, modulation and the integrated administration and control system, under the direct support schemes for farmers provided for in the Council Regulation;

"the Council Regulation" means Council Regulation (EC) No. 73/2009(6) establishing common rules for direct support schemes for farmers under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1290/2005, (EC) No 247/2006, (EC) No 378/2007 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003;

"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;

"competent authority" has the meaning given to it in regulation 3 of The Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes (Integrated Administration and Control System) Regulations 2009(7)

(3) Other expressions used in these Regulations that are also used in the Council Regulation, Commission Regulation 1120/2009 or Commission Regulation 1122/2009 have the meaning they bear in those instruments.;

Regional application

3. Northern Ireland shall be a region for the purposes of Article 46 of the Council Regulation.

Minimum size of holding to establish entitlements

4. For the purposes of Article 28(1) of the Council Regulation, the minimum size of a holding for which the establishment of payment entitlements may be requested shall be 0.3 hectares.

Minimum claim

5. The minimum claim size pursuant to Article 28(1) of the Council Regulation is €100.

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 35(1) of the Council Regulation, the date on which those parcels must be at the farmer´s disposal is 15 May.

Transfers

7. For the purposes of Article 12(3) of Commission Regulation 1120/2009, a transferor of a payment entitlement must notify the transfer to the competent authority that allocated that entitlement at least six weeks before–

(a) the transfer is to take place; and

(b) the last day for lodging an application under the single payment scheme.

Additional Modulation

8. The rates in the third column of the Schedule are the voluntary modulation referred to in Article 1 of Council Regulation (EU) No 378/2007 (laying down rules for voluntary modulation of direct payments provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003(8)) (the rates in the second column are the compulsory rates of modulation provided for in Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 and are provided for the sake of completeness).

Revocations and Savings

9.–(1) The following Regulations are revoked–

(a) The Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005(9);

(b) The Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006(10)

(c) The Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008(11)

(d) The Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes (Set-aside) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005(12)

(e) The Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes (Set-aside) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006(13)

(2) The Regulations referred to in paragraph (1) continue to apply in relation to a single application made before the coming into force of these Regulations.

Regulation 8

SCHEDULE Specified proportion of additional modulation

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision in Northern Ireland for the administration of Council Regulation (EC) No. 73/2009 (O.J. No. L 30, 31.01.2009, p 16), and other associated Community instruments in relation to direct support schemes under the Common Agricultural Policy.

Regulation 3 defines Northern Ireland as a region for the purposes of these Regulations.

Regulation 4 prescribes the minimum size of a holding in respect of which the establishment of entitlements may be requested.

Regulation 5 sets the minimum claim size.

Regulation 6 fixes the date on which parcels used to claim under the Single Payment Scheme must be at the disposal of farmers.

Regulation 7 provides that the transfer of payment entitlements must be communicated by the transferor to the relevant competent authority within the time limits specified.

Regulation 8 specifies the additional modulation deductions which will be made from direct payments payable to farmers.

Regulation 9 revokes the Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2005 and its amendments. It also revokes the Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment Scheme (Set-aside) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2005 and its amendments. Those Regulations will continue to apply for certain purposes to single payment applications made before the coming into force of this Regulation.