Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 July 2021
596. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council 28-29 June 2021 regarding the Common Agricultural Policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36313/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt the June Agri-Fish Council, Ministers accepted the provisional deal agreed between the Council Presidency and European Parliament on 25th June.
The new CAP sets out a number of measures aimed at encouraging farmers to adopt climate- and environment-friendly farming practices, including:
- enhanced conditionality standards, with a new GAEC 2 for wetland/peatland protection;
- 25% ring-fencing of Pillar I payments for new eco-schemes;
- 35% of Pillar II expenditure to be targeted at environmental actions.
The new CAP also includes changes to the direct payments system, including:
- the option to cap the basic payment at €100,000, with a further option to reduce direct payments above €60,000 by up to 85%;
- the continuation of internal convergence, with farmers reaching 85% of the national average entitlement value by 2026;
- a mandatory redistribution of 10% of direct payments funding to small and medium-sized farms, with an option to derogate from this requirement where Member States' needs can be shown to have been addressed by other instruments;
- an increase to 3% in targeted support for young farmers.
The CAP will also include a social dimension - a new provision whereby farmers in receipt of direct payments, who are employers, will be subject to a direct payments penalty if they do not comply with relevant requirements relating to social and employment conditions.
I believe the political agreement strikes the right balance between ensuring a fair distribution of payments between farmers, and achieving a higher level of environmental and climate ambition. It also provides Member States with the flexibility required to implement the CAP in a way that best suits their national circumstances. This flexibility was one of my key objectives from the outset.
While political agreement has been reached, further work remains on certain technical details of the proposed reform. Legal texts will now be prepared by the Commission, and will be presented to Member States and the European Parliament in due course for formal agreement.
There is a considerable amount of work to be done in the coming months to finalise Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan, which must be submitted to the Commission by 1st January 2022. The Department and I will consult widely with farm families and stakeholders as part of this process. It is also my intention to write to the Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and the Marine to formally seek its views.
