CAP Funding Not Consistent with EU Plans for Farming Under the EU Green Deal

Taoiseach must give a clear commitment that payments at farm-level will keep pace with inflation

Reacting to the outcome of the talks IFA President Tim Cullinan said that while a deal was needed, the funding provided for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) over the next seven years is not consistent with the EU’s aspirations for farming as part of the European Green Deal.

“On the one hand, the Commission wants farmers to take costly actions to implement the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies, but on the other hand, they don’t want to provide the necessary funding,” he said.

“The overall allocation for CAP is down approximately 9% at constant prices, compared to the previous seven years. The Government will need to come forward with significant co-financing to protect payments,” he said.

“What farmers will want to know is how these figures, together with national co-financing from the Government, will translate into payments at farm level,” he said.

“The Taoiseach now needs to give a clear commitment to all farmers that their payments will at least be maintained in real terms during the transition in 2021/2022 and beyond when the new CAP comes into play,” he said.

“These talks were difficult with push back from the so-called frugal countries reducing funding for rural development from the recovery fund from €15bn to €7.5bn during the talks,” he said.

“While there is a ring-fenced ‘additional allocation’ for Ireland under rural development of €300m, the Government will need to provide significant National co-financing to support these programmes,” he said.

An essential aspect of the outcome is the creation of a €5bn contingency fund for Brexit.

“Depending on the Brexit outcome this may not be sufficient, but it is an important acknowledgement that some sectors and Member States will need aid if there is a poor outcome to the Brexit talks,” he said.