Speaking after a meeting with EU Commissioner Christophe Hansen this week, IFA President Francie Gorman said securing a proper budget for the next CAP must be priority number one for both the Commissioner and Minister Heydon.
“The proposed cut to the dedicated CAP budget by over 20% will create even more financial pressure on some of our most vulnerable farmers. It’s going to mean even lower farm incomes which in turn will have environmental, social and economic consequences in terms of economic activity and jobs supported throughout rural Ireland.”
Francie Gorman said the next CAP needs to put the farmer who consistently produces the highest quality food at its core. That starts with a proper CAP budget. What we have on the table falls well short of that and is simply unacceptable.
“The vibes from Commissioner Hansen at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on EU Affairs was that the budgetary issues have largely been resolved. As far as we are concerned, there is still much to be done,” he said.
“The budget needs to increase beyond the existing ring-fenced amount and more with it to account for the inflationary pressures facing farmers. It would make them more competitive & resilient and help on-farm economic sustainability, which still isn’t as prominent as what’s needed,” he said.
IFA also emphasised to the Commissioner the need for proper supports for generational renewal without excluding pensioners from key CAP income supports; the potential of coupled income supports and the importance of having transitionary arrangements to preserve existing supports where required.
“The contradictory imposition of CBAM legislation for climate change purposes, yet turning a blind eye to carbon leakage and the Mercosur deal was also discussed,” he concluded.
