Gay Mitchell
Ceist:57 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food whether he agrees with the predictions by Commissioner MacSharry regarding the effects of his Common Agricultural Policy proposals on Irish agriculture.
Written Answers. - Common Agricultural Policy Reform Proposals.
The Department of Agriculture and Food have analysed the impact of the Common Agricultural Policy reform proposals on Irish agriculture. A preliminary analysis published in July pointed towards an annual loss in aggregate farm income of £87 million if the current proposals were to be fully implemented. This is a loss compared to the situation in 1990 excluding exceptional subsidy payments. It is not a comparison with what the situation would be in future years if no policy adaptation took place. Since July, further analysis has been conducted by the Department in association with the farm organisations. It is expected that the results of further analysis will soon be publicly available. Commissioner MacSharry has not issued any detailed quantification of the effects of his Common Agricultural Policy reform proposals on Irish agriculture. I would expect that the final outcome of the negotiations would differ substantially from the current proposals.