Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 February 2004
182 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food his views on the future of cereal growing in Ireland; his plans to develop and expand in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5340/04]
View answerThe outlook for cereal growing in Ireland is quite positive and Irish cereal producers are well positioned to meet the competitive challenges ahead. Under the reformed CAP, Irish cereal farmers will have the cushion of the single farm payment decoupled from production, and will be able to concentrate on supplying markets, focusing on minimising production costs and maximising their incomes. Improved efficiency of production at farm level will be important to maintain incomes, and to ensure that the volume of output is maintained to support the processing sector. Average grain production in the country over the past number of years has been in the region of two million tonnes and the aim is to maintain this level of production in order to avoid over dependence on imported grain.
My Department operates a range of services aimed at improving the efficiency, quality and viability of cereal production. These services include seed certification, seed testing, recommended lists of varieties, etc. In addition, Teagasc provides comprehensive research, training and advisory services for cereal producers. The value of all these support services is reflected in the fact that Irish cereal producers have consistently achieved some of the highest yields in the world.
In the CAP reform negotiations, which culminated in the Luxembourg Agreement last June, Ireland's objectives for the cereals sector were generally achieved. The proposed reduction of 5% in the pre-Agenda 2000 intervention price for arable crops was withdrawn, and the original proposal for ten-year obligatory non-rotational set-aside, which would not have been suitable in the Irish situation, was also dropped. The decision to leave the basic intervention price unchanged will help protect the sector from cheap imports, as the cereals import price is related to the intervention price. A study by FAPRI of the effects of both the Luxembourg Agreement and the proposals submitted by the EU Commission to the WTO concluded that the impact on the cereals sector would not be significant.
EU arable aid payments, which amounted to €129 million last year, constitute an important part of cereal producers' incomes. My Department continually strives to ensure that these payments are issued promptly, and we have now reached the stage where over 90% of these payments are issued within one week of the commencement date for payment laid down in EU Regulations.
