Mr. Michael Ewing:

Just to say to Deputy Brendan Smith that one of the concerns we would have is that, although there has been a move within the thinking around the CAP to move towards more greening over time, with the absence of the United Kingdom feeding into the overall budget, the CAP budget will be slimmed down next time around. I refer the Republic in this context, as it will be a totally different equation in Northern Ireland after the Brexit procedure finishes, if it ever gets there.

We are very concerned that the actual budget provided for CAP should be very much focused on greening, rather than generally the way it has been historically, which has been very important for social reasons in rural Ireland. I live in rural north Roscommon and as I am from a farming background, I know what it is all about. The greening process needs to be pushed further along. As I said, people have paid public funds for public goods. As a republic, we need to watch out for what is happening in the CAP talks to make sure that this happens in reality with whatever funds are available once the United Kingdom leaves.