Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2020
801. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the convergence of BPS payments will continue during the CAP transitionary period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34696/20]
View answerConvergence is a feature of the current CAP and the new CAP proposals intend to continue with this policy. Ireland has supported this element of these proposals. Convergence aims to redistribute and flatten the value of CAP payment entitlements and like all elements of the CAP, there are differing views regarding its implementation.
Under the current CAP, some €93million was redistributed from farmers with payment entitlements values above the national average to raise the value of payment entitlement held by farmers that were below the national average. This was implemented in a planned, phased manner over the five years of the Basic Payment Scheme and the steps of the convergence was notified to each farmer. This period of planned convergence ended in 2019 following its successful implementation.
The negotiation of the regulations regarding the transition period is ongoing at present. It is proposed to enable member states to continue convergence during the transition period, if they so wish.
I am reflecting on the approach that should be adopted and I will continue to engage with the relevant stakeholder organisations. I am mindful that any decision on convergence during the transition period is interlinked with plans for convergence in the new CAP.
