Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I stated, this has been the topic for many debates nationwide that I have attended, as have other Deputies. However, there are more winners than losers in this regard because of the way in which money is distributed at present. As farmers who get less than the average payment get a smaller payment than do those who are above the average, there are more farmers in the former category and therefore, there are more winners than losers in the context of people seeing an increase in their single farm payment. However, the important issue is the level of losses being incurred by those who are above the average to bring up everyone else who is under the average. These will be significantly less than most people thought possible under these negotiations. One will see an average loss of somewhere between 8% and 12% for most farmers over a seven-year period, which is not dramatic.

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