Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I can only agree with everything the Deputy has said. It is a huge challenge. It was going to be a challenge even if the UK had voted to stay because of the competing demands for the EU budget and because the perception of what CAP is about has been misconstrued and misunderstood for many years. It depends on the member state. During the last period of CAP negotiations, former Commissioner Ciološ's support for a more or less intact CAP budget was based on the principles of producing food sustainably, sourcing as much food as possible from within the EU, and protecting rural economies. That is why the likes of greening came in along with other environmental measures.

As I said in my reply, we have moved the CAP considerably from its earlier manifestations. It still needs to evolve and, furthermore, it needs to move towards what consumers and taxpayers across Europe want. We still have a huge challenge which is compounded by the fact that there will be a net loss from Brexit. The figure varies between €10 billion and €14 billion, depending on who one talks to. We took the lower estimate, which is still a frightening amount.

See this speech in context