Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Doyle, on his well-deserved reappointment. The biggest challenge facing rural Ireland is Brexit. The €1.7 billion received by Irish farmers annually must be guaranteed in any post-Brexit adjustment to the EU budget. The Government must ensure that this vital EU funding stream is protected. The UK contributes about 12% of the EU budget with a net contribution of about €12.9 billion. That will be lost post-2020. A 12% cut to the CAP will have a devastating impact on Irish farmers as EU payments account for 65% of Irish family farm incomes. It is clearly critical for thousands of Irish farmers that those payments are preserved. Brexit is also a big challenge for the agrifood sector, the biggest it has faced in decades. It will be acutely felt by that sector. I want to make sure we are on top of our brief and ahead of the curve on this matter.

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