Ms Siún Máire Riordan:

It is an honour to address members of the joint committees today. I welcome their engagement with younger citizens. I am a second year European studies student in University College Cork.

As a young person growing up in rural Ireland, I have seen the importance of the agricultural industry and the difference the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, makes in Ireland. One of the leading incentives behind Ireland’s decision to apply for European Union membership was the opportunity of gaining support from the CAP. When the CAP was introduced under the Treaty of Rome in 1957, the objectives were to improve and stabilise the incomes of those engaged in the farm sector, largely through market support mechanisms but with some activities oriented towards improving farming productivity and structural adjustments within the farm sector. As the EU now discusses the future of the CAP post 2020, it is important to recall how beneficial this policy is and has been for Ireland.

One of the aspects of the CAP that has had the greatest impact on the lives of farmers across the EU has been the payment schemes. Farmers are given money for maintaining their land and young farmers are given payments to encourage them to start farming. They are given grants or loans to help start up and farmers can receive the green direct payments for reaching environment objectives. The objective of the CAP is to give farmers and other agricultural workers a decent standard of living. While the CAP is not always fairly divided among all recipients, it has still improved the income for thousands of farmers across Ireland and the EU. The CAP’s direct payment schemes help protect farmers from the uncertainty of the market. At the moment, the CAP has a small farmers' scheme which is aimed at supporting smaller farmers in Europe. However, this only operates in 15 EU countries andIreland is not among them. This is unfortunate because if this policy were introduced in Ireland, it would aid many more in the agricultural industry. Many Irish farmers are small farmers and the CAP currently does not have a big an impact on their lives.

The CAP encourages green, sustainable farming. Part of the direct payment is given to farmers who strive for greener, more environment friendly agricultural production. In theory, this should help Ireland improve its carbon footprint and reach its climate change objectives. Farmers gain more by diversifying their crop and meeting environmental goals. This is important for farmers as it gives them the opportunity to receive more from the CAP schemes while also encouraging them to be more environmentally conscious. The CAP may be more known for its payments to farmers but it is also very focused on rural development and sustainability. The CAP has helped many local, rural regions around Ireland. Between 2007 and 2013, €4.3 billion in funding was given to help agricultural production that would benefit rural areas.

The CAP also helps non-agricultural activities, such as small-scale manufacturing and food processing. Such activities encourage businesses to set up in rural areas, focusing on the development of the local food sector. This is important as it brings employment to rural regions and allows small, rural, agricultural communities to prosper and to use their large agricultural sector to develop compatible businesses. When rural areas are developed, this development attracts more people to the area, offers more employment and can increase tourism. The increase in employment is especially important as many farmers who operate small farms must get jobs outside the farm to supplement their household income. This is made easier when the region around them is more developed, giving them a greater opportunity to find employment. The development of these areas is vital to encourage people to stay and continue, or even start, farming in these rural areas. The continuance of CAP ensures the development of Irish rural areas and gives further aid to the agricultural workers here.

The Agriculture and Fisheries Council will meet next week and I will follow its discussions about the future of the CAP post 2020 very closely. At the most recent meeting in April, I was stuck by the emphasis by the Romanian Presidency on the environmental ambition of the CAP. I agree that this is a major feature of CAP reform. It will be advantageous not only to EU farmers but to every single EU citizen. As a young citizen, I value sustainable development and want a green future for Ireland. I know that Ministers have been discussing climate, biodiversity and water quality, to name just a few issues. I hope to see a future in which we can enjoy sustainable food security and see an improvement in the environmental issues that exist today.