Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 October 2012
491. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Agriculture; Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on Common Agricultural Policy Budget 2014-2020 negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42628/12]
View answerThe negotiations to determine the budget for the Common Agricultural Policy from 2014 to 2020 are part of wider negotiations that will decide the multi-annual financial framework, or MFF, for the EU budget for the period from 2014 to 2020. These negotiations are being conducted under the auspices of the EU General Affairs Council, attended by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs. Ultimately decisions on the MFF will be taken by EU Heads of State and Government. A special meeting of the European Council has been scheduled for November 2012 for this purpose.
The overriding national priority is to safeguard CAP funding to the maximum extent possible, having regard to the reality that CAP accounts for over 80% of Ireland’s total receipts of EU funding, equivalent to about €12 billion over the 2007-2013 period. This is a whole of Government position.
The CAP is the only Heading of the Commission proposal which has been already reduced in real terms in the Commission proposal. There is pressure from some Member States to reduce CAP spending further. The Irish Government’s view is that the amounts proposed are the minimum acceptable and we will strongly resist pressure for further cuts.
In addition to determining the overall CAP budget, these negotiations will determine the mechanisms for distribution of CAP funds between Member States, co-financing rates, capping of payments and greening of the pillar 1 direct payments.
The key priority for Ireland is to retain our current levels of funding for both direct payments and for rural development.
The current Commission proposals for Pillar 1 direct payments take a pragmatic approach to redistribution and are broadly satisfactory, albeit with a small loss to Ireland. However there is no guarantee that this proposal will be the final outcome, and therefore we will continue to strongly defend our proposed allocation in the negotiations.
In addition we have serious concerns in relation to the distribution of rural development (Pillar 2) funds between Member States. The Commission has yet to table a specific proposal in respect of rural development funding, but the envisaged use of a combination of past performance and objective criteria could reduce our allocation. We are strongly resisting any such reduction. Ireland has said that the distribution of rural development funding between Member States should be based on past performance over the whole period 2007 – 2013. We take the view that any further movement from this point should: use the same methodology as the Commission has proposed for Pillar 1, i.e. adjustment of support levels per hectare of potentially eligible area, and ensure that no Member State with below-average Pillar 2 payments per hectare loses in any redistribution, and no Member state loses under both pillars.
