IFA to Protest at Dublin Castle over Commissioner’s Cap Reform Proposals

IFA President John Bryan said that farmers would be protesting outside Dublin Castle tomorrow (Mon) to coincide with the visit of EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos, to highlight the damaging effects of his CAP reform proposals on productive agriculture in Ireland.

Mr Bryan said that the Commissioner’s reform proposals of flattening SFP payments and regionalisation are seriously flawed, and will do massive damage to agricultural output and the viability of tens of thousands of our  most active and productive farmers in every parish in Ireland.
In a clear warning to Mr. Ciolos’ ambitions to secure an EU CAP deal during the Irish Presidency, he said that Irish farmers would not let Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney, who is President of the EU Council, sell out productive agriculture.

He said the Commission must provide Ireland with the flexibilities to address the most damaging aspects of his deeply flawed and misguided reform proposals. Mr Bryan will remind Commissioner Ciolos what a former and highly respected EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler said about his reforms and their impact on Ireland at a major conference in Brussels last week. Mr Fischler said ‘The Irish difficulties are the most serious of any country, particularly on the beef side’.