Vol. 561 No. 3
65 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food his plans to enhance the viability of Irish agriculture, having particular regard to the likely impact of the Fischler proposals and the WTO; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4043/03]
106 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food his plans for the future of Irish agriculture having particular regard to developments at EU and WTO level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4213/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 65 and 106 together.
The Commission's proposals for the reform of the CAP were published only a few weeks ago. The process of examination of, and negotiation on, the proposals at EU level will take some months. The negotiations are unlikely to be concluded before June 2003 at the earliest and the outcome of those negotiations cannot be predicted at this stage. The deadline for the conclusion of the WTO negotiations is the beginning of 2005. The likely outcome, and its possible impact on the CAP, will not therefore be clear for some time.
At this stage of both sets of negotiations, it would be inappropriate to plan for the ultimate outcomes. I established the agri-food 2010 committee in June 1999 to consider the implications for Irish agriculture of future developments at the EU and international levels. That report, and the Government's response, the Agri Food 2010 Plan of Action, are still essentially valid, particularly since it is my objective in both sets of negotiations to preserve the benefits to Irish agriculture and rural communities of the Agenda 2000 agreement.
