Sorca Clarke
Question:481. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he plans to continue the process of convergence in 2022. [38623/21]
View answerWednesday, 14 July 2021
Questions (481)
Written answers
The Regulation regarding the transition period enables Member States to continue convergence during the transition period, if they so wish. Following my appointment as Minister, I examined with Department officials the possibility of continuing convergence in 2021. The decision had previously been made to rest convergence during the transitional period (2021-22) and given the enormous logistical and operational requirements in the process, the timeframe was not available to consider making changes for 2021. It is clear this would constitute an enormous challenge to restart this in 2022 given the need to develop our CAP Strategic Plan and the payment systems that will be required to ensure we meet our payment targets.
In addition, this transitional period continues to provide some time for meaningful consultation with farmers and their representative bodies on this important issue, along with some much-needed stability in Direct Payments through the transitional period. It is my intention to continue to consult with farm organisations for the second transition year of 2022 as well as for the CAP programme to further consider how to continue the convergence process. This engagement will take place over the coming months in order to make a timely decision for the 2022 period and beyond.
It is now clear that the CAP regulations commencing in 2023 will continue with the convergence process to far beyond the original proposal, and I will be aiming to obtaining the best outcome for Irish farmers from the options available.