Mr. James Healy:

Chairman and members, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to begin by thanking the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs for giving us the opportunity to present to it today. My name is James Healy. I am national president of Macra na Feirme. I am joined by my colleagues, Mr. Denis Duggan, chief executive, and Mr. Derrie Dillon, agriculture and rural affairs manager.

Macra na Feirme is a voluntary organisation for young people between the ages of 17 and 35. The organisation consists of a nationwide network of clubs, with six key areas of activity: agriculture; sports; travel; public speaking; community involvement; and performing arts. The vision of Macra na Feirme for rural Ireland is to have rural and agricultural communities that are active and vibrant socially, economically and culturally, in which young people, including young farmers, play an active and recognised role and that are attractive and nurturing places in which to live and work. By means of our work and our commitment to Europe, through our participation in Rural Youth Europe and European Council of Young Farmers, CEJA, we advocate a similar vision for rural Europe.

As the EU marks 60 years since the signing of the Treaty of Rome, we welcome the opportunity that exists to input the views of citizens on the Union's White Paper on the Future of Europe. One of the key questions relates to how we can support and engage with the next generation of Europeans. These Europeans are the most skilled, educated and mobile generation ever. How can Europe achieve the vision of vibrant rural communities akin to that which Macra na Feirme has set out for rural areas here? How can Europe address the new challenges it faces while retaining its founding principles and core values? How can Europe communicate and engage with and address the needs of young EU citizens who are the future of the Union and who will ultimately shape it into the future?

Macra na Feirme has always been a strong advocate of the values of the European project.

Prior to Ireland joining the European Union, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Sicco Mansholt, addressed a Macra na Feirme national conference in 1970 in Tralee on his infamous Mansholt plan. Macra na Feirme held a series of information meetings and seminars and lobbied for a "Yes" vote in the 1972 European Economic Community referendum. The commitment of Macra na Feirme to Europe then and now has never been in doubt. Fast-forwarding to 2017, the ten policy areas under the Jean-Claude Juncker agenda for jobs, growth, fairness and democratic change are boosting jobs, growth and investment, the digital Single Market, a resilient energy Union, a fairer internal market, fairer economic and monetary union, balanced free trade agreements with the US, justice and fundamental rights, migration policy, and being a stronger global actor and a Union of democratic change. These are important policy areas that will shape the future of Europe and impact on future generations.

I will address the future of agriculture and the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP. A worrying concern is there is no reference to the Common Agricultural Policy in the Future of Europe document. In all of the five scenarios put forward, there is no impact assessment of the outcomes on the Common Agricultural Policy, which accounts for close to 40% of the EU budget. The CAP has been in place since 1962 and benefits not just farmers, but the European population as a whole. Outside the agricultural community, the benefits of the Common Agricultural Policy are often overlooked, as well as its importance to rural communities. A case in point is the absence of a reference in the Future of Europe White Paper. The CAP has an economic multiplier effect of five to one and the public good and social benefit to rural Ireland and Europe are immeasurable.

At present, 55.7% of European farm owners are aged 55 or over and therefore "approaching or beyond the regular pension age", with a mere 6% of farm owners under the age of 35. That is from EUROSTAT 2016. Young farmers and generation renewal within agriculture are essential for ensuring the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of European agriculture. With this said, it is crucial the next CAP addresses the current age demographic within European agriculture and implements measures to lower it. Young farmers are the lifeblood and future of rural communities, providing direct and indirect employment, raw materials for exports and further processing environmental and countryside management. The future of agriculture and rural areas relies on young farmers, and it is imperative the necessary resources and supports are made available to allow the development of their farm businesses to fulfil this expectation.

Another point on the Common Agricultural Policy is the budget for the next CAP programme. The budget of the EU and the proportion the CAP receives from the budget is a very topical matter. Ongoing global events and challenges, such as the migrant crisis, terrorism and climate change, cannot put pressure on the CAP budget. Increasing the Common Agricultural Policy budget will deliver and contribute to the EU Commission’s jobs and economic growth agenda. The Common Agricultural Policy 2020 must include measures to protect Irish farmers from the fallout of Brexit. The CAP budget cannot be sacrificed to meet the very real and present dangers associated with terrorism or migration. National parliaments and governments must find new money to contribute to tackling new European problems.

Europe has been poor at communicating what is great about the EU. Engagement and active participation of young people in EU issues and developing their interest and understanding of what the EU can achieve is critical to the future of Europe. Supporting and recognising the value of young people's organisations as vehicles for training and development of informal life skills is critical to unlocking active engagement. Youth organisations facilitate structured dialogue with young people to feed into decision-making processes. They also contribute to the personal, political, social and economic development of young people. The significant importance of EU-funded programmes such as Erasmus+ to support youth organisations delivering intercultural development of young people highlights what is great about EU activities and engagement.

As outlined, it is important that young people engage and shape the debate on the future of Europe. Macra na Feirme engages in European policy development through active participation in the Council of European Young Farmers and Rural Youth Europe. Young farmers and rural youths meet with European counterparts and understand each others' perspectives in achieving a European multifunctional agriculture, which is underpinned by the Common Agriculture Policy. There are differences in farming practices across Europe, but young farmers from all member states work together for the betterment of European agriculture in the spirit of being European. A good example of this is in the current Common Agriculture Policy. Macra na Feirme developed a policy proposal for a young farmer support and with the help of our European colleges, this became the European young farmers policy and subsequently formed part of the Common Agricultural Policy.

Access to a quality, sustainable job market is a key deliverable of the EU. Up to one in five young people is out of work in the EU, and this is a major economic and social cost. Fostering and supporting entrepreneurship among young people and progressing the Youth Guarantee scheme must be a key priority for the EU. Young people need to have confidence in their future. In the words of former Vice President of the World Bank, Ismail Serageldin:

Unemployed youth, with no prospect of being integrated into a better future is a prescription for disaster. If young people do not have a stake in the existing social order and political order, if they do not feel there is a way for them, why should they sacrifice today for a better tomorrow? Why should they have an interest in protecting the stability and social safety of that system?

With all the challenges posed in Europe by terrorism, migration, radicalism, and so forth, the former World Bank Vice President has offered some possible insight to part of the problem.

Travel broadens the mind and encouraging young people to explore the EU and learn from different cultural experience helps delivers on the objective of lifelong learning. Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps programmes support the mobility of young people for working abroad, studying or volunteering. According to the European Youth Forum, the youth sector represents only 10% of the Erasmus+ budget but mobilises more than 25% of all programme participants, and it is not able to respond to the increasing demands of young people across Europe. We caution against the populist rhetoric on integration and its constant association with the negative. Ease of travel in every way, from cost, visa and passport control, deregulation, and so forth has been one of the great success stories of the European project.

The European Fund for Strategic Investment helps drive investment. Ireland is ranked 17 for utilising this instrument. Finance is the engine for growth and developing financial instruments and tackling the investment gap for small and medium enterprises, SMEs, in Europe will help develop rural areas. Improving access such as roads, ports and interconnections; funding and guarantees for SMEs, including the agri sector; and capital investment by universities are all stimuli that will help EU citizens reach their potential.

On the matter of trade deals, the mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles of our members are outside protesting today with the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, over beef access into the EU under Mercosur. Macra na Feirme supports them in their efforts to highlight the absolutely detrimental impact this would have on Irish and European beef farming. Negotiating a trade deal with South American countries that has such a potential negative impact on our largest indigenous industry is grossly irresponsible, especially when the impacts of Brexit are still unknown. We recognise the importance of EU trade deals to prosper but not at the cost of sacrificing agriculture. Macra na Feirme calls for a full impact assessment on all trade deals, current and prospective, and this must be undertaken before any deal is agreed on Mercosur. We need balanced trade deals that benefit European and Irish farmers, and trade deals that recognise the threats and impacts of Brexit. Entering into a Mercosur with such a large quantity of the EU beef market available to countries that do not meet equivalent European standards is reckless.

At a committee in May, Macra na Feirme outlined six solutions for Brexit, including maintaining the strongest possible trading relationships with the UK post-Brexit; securing as favourable UK market access as possible and sufficient resources to identify new markets for Irish agri-business products; an all-island approach to animal health and environment; access to the European Globalisation Fund for upskilling; increasing spaces in Irish third level institutes to compensate for expected increase in places due to reduction in access to UK universities; and maintaining the CAP budget at European level. We note the RTE news story this morning citing an EU Commission memo that suggests an all-island solution for customs. We cautiously welcome what would appear as the emergence of some practical solutions for dealing with the significant impacts of Brexit.

The White Paper on the future of the European Union outlines five scenarios, but it does not draw conclusions as to the Commission's preferred scenario. In his state of the European Union address in September Jean-Claude Juncker presented a sixth scenario based on the principles of freedom, equality and the rule of law. His vision for the European Union to be more united in the areas of banking, the eurozone and the Schengen agreement included all member states. Of concern is the rhetoric he used. We do not want a federal Europe. We do not want a European Union that is focused solely on expansion and integration. As Europeans, we need to develop an emotional connection to the European Union which must encourage this connection between it and citizens. People in the European Union need to feel European for that connection to work. It will ultimately lead to greater awareness of what the European Union is doing to benefit citizens.

Looking at the five scenarios posed in President Juncker's vision document, we ask which is closest to achieving all of the above. It is perhaps a combination of scenarios Nos. 1 and 5. A two-speed European Union is not a solution for the future, while the Single Market approach will not address collective challenges such as security, defence, terrorism, migration or climate change. Therefore, the scenarios entitled, "Carrying On" and "Doing Much More Together", appear to be closest to achieving a positive future for Europeans in line with the four founding freedoms enshrined in the Treaty of Rome. To borrow a phrase from the European Commissioner Phil Hogan, the future of the European Union should be an evolution of ideas and policies, not a policy revolution.