Mr. Paul Savage:

I thank Deputies Martin Browne and Fitzmaurice for the points they have made and the questions they have asked, which give me a chance to make some comments. I begin with some overall comments from my perspective regarding the overall direction in which we are travelling in this regard. I will ask for further input from colleagues, including Ms Murphy and Mr. Keating, on some of the more technical elements as we go through the process of answering the questions.

I start with some of the points made initially by Deputy Fitzmaurice. Concerning the CAP originally subsidising the price of food and why these additional conditions or further requirements are now being imposed on farmers, the only way I can answer that query is by looking at the evolution of the CAP itself over the past 20 to 30 years. It would certainly have been introduced essentially as a means to provide support for the sector in the form of market supports or subsidies to support the price of different food products. However, that of course led to problems over the early part of the CAP. We have since seen changes in what the CAP does in recent years and a move to much more of a market orientation for the CAP and away from direct price support, if we want to call it that. The CAP has now moved more towards market orientation and supporting farmers through a type of income support structure, as it is now essentially, which provides a foundation then for farmers to respond to the demands of the market and the requirements of the wider development of the industry, and for them to feed into that wider development.

That market orientation has characterised the CAP over the past 15 to 20 years, and I suppose gradually over the latest period. We have also seen an increasing environmental dimension to the CAP in recent years. That environmental dimension and focus is, if anything, intensifying. It has been doing so in recent years and it is going to intensify more in the future because there are major pressures from consumers globally concerning expectations of environmental standards associated with food production. In addition, there has been an impact from the targets we have set for ourselves domestically in the climate action plan, as well as in respect of the targets set at European concerning the green deal and the farm-to-fork and biodiversity strategies now in place. There must also be consideration of the expectations of stakeholders and of people generally who have an interest in ensuring that farming and food production takes place in an environmentally sustainable way. I think that aspect will continue to characterise the CAP in future and there is an increasing focus in that area.

These extra conditions or requirements to which Deputy Fitzmaurice referred are, therefore, a reflection of the way the CAP is evolving. It is a reflection of the hugely increased environmental pressure regarding the standards we must meet and the level of ambition we must try to achieve. We are, however, trying to do that, and member states and the parliament have been trying to do this on the basis of continuing to support farm incomes while also endeavouring to redirect the CAP to support these market-oriented and environmental objectives. Income support obviously remains a key objective of the CAP and that will continue to inform the reform process in future.

Another point touched on regarding expenditure and farm incomes concerns the budgetary negotiations and where we stand regarding the budget we have for the next CAP. We have seen, for example, a slight increase overall in Ireland's budget for the CAP and a slight decrease on-----