Watch: Future of CAP budget a major concern at farmer meeting
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has attended an event in Kildare on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The event, organised by the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA), is titled 'CAP to 2030 and Beyond'.
One of the main points of contention at the meeting was the future of the CAP's budget.
The European Commission is understood to be considering a radical overall of the EU budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), that, according to farm organisations, could see the erosion of dedicated funding for the CAP and its traditional two pillars.
Addressing the issue during his opening remarks, IFA president Francie Gorman said: "The EU Commission appears to be pushing ahead with their ‘single fund approach’ to the MFF rather than having a designated CAP budget.
"Over recent decades we have seen the undermining of the CAP with budget cuts; no allowance for inflation; and forcing farmers to do more and more for less and less," he added.
"Now we see our EU Commission president proposing to put a knife through the heart of the CAP," the IFA president said.
He claimed the change would be the end of the CAP "as we know it".
According to the IFA president, these changes would undermine funding for schemes, negatively impact the rural economy, undermine generational renewal, and "damage confidence in the entire European project".
"This single budget approach to the CAP will be seen as a clear signal that the EU wants to dismantle the CAP and it no longer places a value on farmers and food production," Gorman claimed.
During his keynote address to the meeting, Minister Heydon said: "There's been some speculation on what the financial framework might look like.
"Let me be clear. I favour the retention of the current CAP structure - separate fund, two pillars."
"Ultimately, the funding available for the budget, and its structure, will depend on the contributions that member states are prepared to make, and that is not an easy discussion," the minister said.
"Reflecting on what a future CAP might look like, we need to consider whether it's revolution or evolution that's required," the minister added.
