As many as 70,000 farmers are expected to participate in a €3 billion scheme designed to protect Ireland's rural landscape.
Details of the Rural Environment Protection Scheme 4 (Reps 4) were announced today by Minister for Agriculture and Food Mary Coughlan.
The plan, which is jointly funded by the EU and the Irish taxpayer, provides €3 billion for the duration of the seven-year programme, working out at more than €400 million per year until 2013.
The plan provides funding for the maintenence and planting of hedgerows, growing crops to provide food for wild birds, increasing biodiversity, and preserving traditional breeds of animals.
Speaking at the launch of the programme today, Ms Coughlan said: "Modern farmers are very conscious of their responsibility for this heritage and they want to maintain it and pass it on to future generations."
"Reps helps them to do this. While the payments are made directly to farmers, the benefits are for society as a whole," she said.
In line with the social partnership agreement, Towards 2016, all payment rates, were increased by 17 per cent compared to Reps 3.
Under Reps 4, the average REPS farmer will get €7,220, while a farmer with 55 hectares will qualify for over €10,000.
The scheme was approved at the EU's Rural Development Committee on July 24th as part of Ireland's Rural Development Programme and negotiated by the Irish Farmers' Association in the Partnership Agreement last October.
"I am particularly pleased that the European Commission was able to accept my proposals for a mixed grazing measure which will benefit sheep farmers," added Ms Coughlan.
"I had also been anxious to extend Reps to the more intensive farming sectors, including dairying, and I am very happy that this will now be possible under Reps 4."
Reps was first introduced in 1994. When Reps 3, the last version of the scheme, closed to new entrants in December 2006 there were over 59,000 farmers taking part.