Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Secretary General and his officials for the presentation. The trade agreement between the EU and Canada has been hailed in Canada as a win-win for its agriculture sector, particularly for the Canadian beef and pork industry. The only benefit for the Irish sector, according to the industry, will be in the dairy sector. There is a challenge to the Irish beef and pork sector from this agreement. Has the potential impact been quantified by the Department?

The Canadian beef industry is based on ranch-style farming and grass feeding. Canada is the second largest landmass in the world and it has the acreage to produce a lot of grass-fed beef. This will be a challenge to Irish beef. What discussions have taken place at European level to safeguard the Irish beef and pork industry against this challenge? There is also the issue of Canadian and US hormone-free beef production. How could this become a competitive threat to Irish beef? Has there been any cost-benefit or strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats analysis, SWOT, on the possibility of cheap, grass-fed and hormone-free Canadian beef imports?

I welcome the work done in emerging markets and the news from Japan yesterday lifting the 13-year ban on Irish beef exports. There is, however, another market closer to home, the British beef market, which was discussed at a recent committee meeting. What work has been done to develop that market for live Irish beef exports? The farming organisations are anxious that we do more to open up the live export market there.

On the greening issue in CAP reform, how will the Department implement it? Will it be a flat-rate greening? Will there be additional incentives to those farmers who work and protect natural heritage areas, NHAs, special areas of conservation, SACs, and special protection areas, SPAs, given the designation of their lands? Very often, farmers in such areas did not have the opportunity to make the case to be exempted from a designation. For example, farmers on such lands are so constrained that they cannot cut their grass without the prior approval of the State. We have to be careful with greening. If greening measures are to be introduced, those providing the most greening in co-operation with the State have to be taken into account.

What is the Department’s thinking on a maximum payment under internal convergence? When does the Department envisage having Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 of the CAP finalised and agreed with the European Commission?