Mr. Phil Hogan:

I agree with Deputy Cahill that we need to be very careful about the proportion of the budget that relates to the CAP, no matter where it comes from. We can only deal with the money we have at the moment and if new money comes onto the horizon we have to make sure we benefit from that too. In trade, generally we make cumulative concessions on beef and we also have to go around the world and get good results, such as the 65,000 tonnes of beef we got from Japan. There are swings and roundabouts and we have to ensure we improve the situation in Europe at the moment, where beef consumption is going down. There has been a strong attack by various lobbies on the beef sector, which is also not easy to overcome. The challenge to beef comes from within the European Union as much as outside.

Significant market supports along the lines of those we have now will become available to deal with volatility and we want to enhance our risk management tools, which we have just done with the omnibus regulation. A mid-term review came into effect with the changes we made on 1 January 2018, which recognised that we needed to do more in the area of income stabilisation tools in Pillar 2, in respect of the active farmer and greening. More insurance products are also available now, and which are easier to deliver on the ground in respect of Pillar 2.

The MilkFlex programme has been a major success and €100 million has been borrowed in the Glanbia area alone. All dairy co-operatives are getting involved so as to have ring-fenced money, with longer terms and at a fixed interest rate, to deal with price volatility in the payment schedule. These are innovative products which we are trying to build on and they are very welcome.

We have to look at entitlements in respect of reference years and many member states have already implemented a new regime but Ireland, Spain and a few other countries have still not adjusted their systems to reflect this. We are having a conversation internally to see what we need to do and we will say something about it when the legislative proposal is open. If we are serious about prioritising young farmers we have to see this as a barrier to entry. The paperwork for the three-crop rule will be completed by 29 May but no member state has objected to date about what we are trying to do. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has to give the official position but I can speak politically and can tell farmers they can sow their corn and will not have any problem with the three-crop rule.

We are extending the basic payment scheme applications by one month from 15 May to 15 June because of the weather and other things, if member states wish to take this up. There is a bit of a logjam and the extension might help people cope with online applications, 100% of which must be completed this year.

I can tell Deputy Fitzmaurice that no airlines are going to get money from the Common Agricultural Policy as far as I know. If the Deputy has any idea who or where they are I would like to know. We have transferred the active farmer clause to the member state because we could not get the agreement of 28 member states. Ireland can now change the definition of active farmer as of now, because we did this in the mid-term review, but it has to notify the Commission of what it intends to do by a certain date every year. The last date was 31 March and I doubt if they applied because I would have heard about it if they had. For reasons I gave earlier, every member state has different issues relating to active farming but the member state plan, which will be put up in the next reform, will have to be approved by the European Commission. It will be based around nine objectives, one of which will be in the area of young farmers and generational renewal. There will be no approval of the plan unless a genuine effort is made by the member state to do something to get more people involved in agriculture. It is a big change and targets will be set by the member state for what it intends to do.

I have brought in approximately 100 changes and simplifications and perhaps the committee should familiarise itself with them. It is obvious that the Co-Chairman is not familiar with the changes. The last reform made the policy hugely complex. I did not introduce greening. It came at the last minute in order to protect the budget and farmers went along with it on the basis that at least they got the money. Its implementation was very difficult, however, so I am going to get rid of it. I hope we are not going to replace it at member state level with something that is more complex so we have to keep an eye on it. We are going to get rid of a lot of EU rules because they duplicate member state rules and we do not need two sets of rules. We need more technology rather than physical inspections.

In response to Deputy Nolan, I have not come across a farmer who was so afraid of an inspection that they would not apply for a cheque.