Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for the second day this week. I will start with the CAP budget. Everyone is in unison with the view that the budget needs to be maintained and even increased if we are to make any difference. The big issue is that so many EU member states have said thus far that they are not prepared to pay in that extra amount. What does that mean? What is going to be the outworking of that? Where are we going to end with this? If several strong and influential states make that stand at this point, will it require a lengthy negotiation? Will they only come to the table if they know what that money is going to be spent on or where it will be spent?

We are all conscious of the other side of this, that is to say, the reform of how the allocation is being distributed is a big issue, especially with regard to Pillar 1. Indeed, I imagine the Minister was conscious of this when he was going around the country meeting people in the various places at the six meetings.

Often it is said that 80% of the money goes to 20% of the farmers. That flies in the face of the essence of the Common Agricultural Policy. A major part of CAP is sustaining the family farm. Certainly, that figure is often quoted. We need to do something to change it around and to make better provision. One such change is around the levelling of payments on a per hectare basis. I am keen to know the view of the Minister at this early stage.

The greening element is part of Pillar 1. I understand the idea behind greening is now to integrate everything into one basic payment. Is that the predominant option? If it is, will it mean some form of environmental measures in Pillar 1? Will it mean some action is required by farmers apart from simply existing and undertaking basic activity?

The big issue facing many farmers with Brexit is the possibility of the British market drying up and Britain importing food products from elsewhere. That is something of which we are all conscious. It might not be so easy for those responsible in Britain to do that in reality when it comes down to it. The issue is that until they discover that it will not be so easy to do that and that they will have to come back to talk to people in Ireland - their nearest and safest market from which to source their products - many businesses are going to be under stress. This applies especially for businesses that are exporting.

The North-South issue is one dimension but the cross-channel element is another. Many businesses will need something more solid than the option to get loans. They will need something in place to ensure their businesses survive the volatile period. A period of two to three years of uncertainty after Britain leaves is likely until things settle down. During that period we will have to come up with a solution to keep businesses going.

The Mercosur deal is interesting. We were in Brussels some months ago and we met the Commissioner, Mr. Hogan. At the time, he was talking it up and suggested it would happen fast and that we were near the end game. It has not come at us that quickly. Does the Minister have any indication of the timeline in that regard? The potential 99,000 tonnes of prime cut is really the issue from an Irish farming perspective. The issue is taking in prime cuts to the EU under the Mercosur deal from South America. Is there any sense of a timescale for that to happen? I have talked to people who export to various parts of the world. They maintain there is a lengthy period before people can get their product approved. What will that mean? Does it mean the EU will have to go out to Latin America and inspect factories there? What timeline are we looking at before we can see some of the product coming in? Even if Mercosur was to go through in the next six months, are we looking at one year or five years before we see product arriving in the EU? The latter timescale would give us some preparation for the change. That is not to say anyone believes this is the right thing to do; it is certainly not the right thing to do and we should move away from it as quickly as possible. At the same time we need to understand how we would deal with it if it were to come about.