Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 May 2022
823. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has formally responded to the communication from the European Commission in respect of the CAP strategic plan; if he intends to re-engage farm stakeholders with regard to a revised CAP Strategic Plan; and if he intends to bring a revised CAP Strategic Plan before the Houses of the Oireachtas for debate and approval. [27655/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI received a letter from Commissioner Wojciechowski on 1st April regarding the European Commission's observations letter in relation to Ireland's draft CAP Strategic Plan for the period 2023-2027.
The letter, and my reply, is published on my Department's website. The observations letter itself in respect of the draft Plan was received by my Department from the Director General of the Commission's Directorate for Agriculture and Rural Development on 31st March. This letter, and my Department's initial response to the observations, are also available on the Department's website, at www.gov.ie/cap.
Engagement with farm stakeholders on the CSP has never stopped. The CAP Stakeholder Consultative Committee has met on thirty occasions since its establishment in May 2019. Most recently, the Committee met on 29th April to exchange views on the Commission's observations letter, and a further meeting is planned for this Thursday, 2nd June.
Public consultations inviting written responses were held on the following topics:
- the drafting of the SWOT analysis in autumn 2019,
- the Scoping Report for the Environmental Assessment in spring 2021,
- the proposed interventions in August/September 2021, and
- the draft Plan and Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment, which concluded on 8th December 2021.
My Ministerial colleagues and I also consulted directly with a wide range of stakeholders and all the farm bodies, including through a series of in-person meetings in autumn 2021. I held meetings in every county in the country through the mart network after the lifting of COVID restrictions in late 2021. What is a priority in one county, may not be a priority in another county. That is why I wanted to visit farmers in each and every county. The next CAP is a crucially important one for all farm families and I wanted to ensure that they had the opportunity to put questions to me, and have their say.
The Oireachtas has received regular updates on the CAP negotiations, and on the development of the CAP Strategic Plan, at official and Ministerial level. This will continue as the Plan is finalised over the coming period.
I brought the draft CSP for Government approval in December, before it was submitted to the European Commission. I will bring the final CSP and Environmental Statement to Government again at the appropriate time.
