Vol. 564 No. 3
73 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the position of the Government in relation to CAP reform proposals; and his views on whether it is acceptable that 60% of EU CAP subsidy is going to the top earning 20% of Irish farmers. [9208/03]
I have indicated my overall opposition to the Commission's proposals for the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, which were published on 22 January 2003, in the Agriculture and Fisheries Council. My objective in the negotiations will be to preserve the benefits to Irish agriculture and to rural communities achieved under the Agenda 2000 Agreement.
The 2001 national farm survey produced by Teagasc provided an estimate of average direct payments made to farmers according to their farm income category. The results show that approximately 36% of payments went to the 20% of farmers with the highest farm income.
