Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Chairman, in particular, for proposing this joint meeting of both committees to discuss this very important topic, namely, the future of the Common Agricultural Policy. This is a time of great uncertainty as the Brexit process continues to roll on towards the date of the UK departure from the European Union on 29 March 2019, which is only 66 days from now. This will have a serious effect on the funding of the European Union in general, and on the Common Agricultural Policy, in particular. Brexit will also have a serious effect on Ireland's economy. We must be aware of issues like climate change and what steps we can take to mitigate against the risk of unfairly penalising people in rural Ireland. That point was made very clearly by RuralLink at a recent meeting of the joint committee.

The negotiations for the European Union's multi-annual framework 2021-2027 and the Common Agricultural Policy 2021-2027 are ongoing. During 2018 we had meetings with the European Commission, the European Court of Auditors and the Departments. It is very important that parliamentary committees continue to fully engage in the process.

There are two pillars to the CAP - Pillar 1, agriculture, and Pillar 2, rural development. My committee is particularly interested in Pillar 2, especially the LEADER programme. It might be helpful to note that there are nine objectives in the future CAP. Many of these objectives will be of great benefit in encouraging sustainable development in rural Ireland. Objectives of CAP, post-2020, include: ensuring a fair income to farmers; increasing competitiveness; rebalancing the power in the food chain; climate change action; environmental care; the preservation of landscapes and biodiversity; support of regenerational renewal; maintaining vibrant rural areas; and protecting food and health quality. We should bear these objectives in mind during our discussions today.

I thank the witnesses from the Departments of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Rural and Community Development for attending this joint meeting. I look forward to hearing about the state-of-play regarding CAP and the MFF negotiations and our future prospects.