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

I thank Mr. Hayes for his presentation. The clear purpose of the CAP is to support agriculture. It started as a cheap food policy but also had the objective of maintaining family farms. It has this dual role to play. We all agree that a cap of €60,000 on the maximum payment is needed. We must also acknowledge it will not be a windfall. It will put a little bit more money back into the system but not a huge amount.

To follow from what Deputy Penrose has said about young farmers and those on smaller holdings, if we are to protect small family farms, there clearly has to be some means to ensure the Pillar 1 funds in particular will give them a decent base income so they will know what they have and can move forward from there. This has been the difficulty until now because the reference years are almost 20 years old. In many cases, particularly small holdings found they had very low payments. Convergence has helped a little bit. I would like to get the views of the Department on where this is going.

It is a question of trying to come up with a system that will deliver something that is more fair to support the family farm, rather than moving us increasingly towards the industrial model of farming which many fear is the opposite of what the consumer wants. It would not be good for the environment. We really need to keep more small and medium-sized farms sustainable.

The amount of money cut from the budget does not tally with the amount that will be absent from European funds overall because of Brexit. It is being used as an excuse to cut more from the budget than is necessary. It also flies in the face of what is supposed to be a key objective of the European Union, namely, the protection of the environment. Land use and land policy are key in that regard. If those in command of the land - farmers, the primary producers - are to be funded adequately to use land for the public good, particularly through carbon sequestration, clearly the CAP will be the method to achieve it. Talking about cutting funds for the CAP when trying to achieve these objectives seems to fly in the face of progress. What argument has been put forward? From the perspective of Irish and other European farmers, to what extent will the payment for carbon sequestration or other positive environmental practices ensure land is used in the best way possible?

Let me turn to the LEADER fund. Most have said the new LEADER fund system is awkward and difficult. Communities find it hard to apply and draw down the money. They are frustrated by the system and comparing it to the old one. Various kites were flown regarding the reasons it changed. I am not sure what the real reasons were. The budget is €250 million up to 2020 and between one quarter and one third of that sum has been spent. Therefore, it poses questions about where we are going to go and how we will achieve the proposed expenditure in such a short period. Quite apart from that, it is very clear that if a fund is not delivering, there is a problem. Communities that need LEADER fund assistance, particularly in more deprived rural areas, do not have the capacity or expertise needed to go through the whole process. This has not been recognised fully in the new configuration between county councils and all of the various parties involved in the process. This has been to the detriment of a fund that had a very good reputation for delivering for rural areas, but that reputation is being lost. I would like to know what measures can be taken to revert to a system that will deliver more and better for communities and that will have an easier application process.

Every time we talk about the CAP, we talk about simplification, yet at the other end of the process we find there are more complications. One almost looks forward to the day when there will be talk about the policy becoming complicated because then it might end up being the reverse. That is how cynical many have become. However, we cannot afford to be cynical because Brexit is approaching. We have to try to have a positive outlook, build on what we have got and proceed with some sense of courage, regardless of the obstacles before us. It needs to be acknowledged that the manner in which the LEADER programme has operated for many communities across the country has been very disappointing.