Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú is to raise the concerns of Irish farmers with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
The pair are due to hold a one-on-one meeting in Strasbourg tomorrow (Tuesday October 22).
The Fianna Fáil MEP is expected to call for a significant increase in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget “to ensure the sustainability of food production and viability of Irish farmers”.
Irish farmers
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Ní Mhurchú said that she will tell the EU Commission president that Irish farm incomes are too low.
She will highlight the 2023 Teagasc National Farm Survey which found that the average family farm income was less than €20,000 last year, the lowest level in more than a decade.
Along with increasing the CAP budget, the Irish MEP will tell Ursula von der Leyen that the European Union must introduce a separate environmental fund to support environmental actions on farms.
Ní Mhurchú will also raise the retention of the nitrates derogation with von der Leyen and detail how Ireland’s grass based system should be recognised at EU level.
Ní Mhurchú met with IFA county chairs and executive board members from across Ireland last Friday in Co. Carlow to hear the concerns of farmers on the ground.
“We need to attract more young famers to take over the family farm. We will not do this if farm incomes are rock bottom.
“CAP is a partnership between European society and agriculture that ensures a stable supply of food, safeguards farmers’ income, protects the environment and keeps rural areas vibrant.
“In order to achieve all of those goals, I will make it perfectly clear to President von der Leyen that we have to give our farmers a better deal. We will miss them when they are gone,” she said.