Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister's response does not outline the efforts that he has made to achieve the commitment in the programme for Government. It sounds as though he is content to kick the matter to touch until the next CAP programme and stand over yet another broken promise from this Government to farmers. It is the Minister's own programme for Government. It was a firm commitment, and while it may have been included because the Deputy's party was engaging with other parties at the time and that is why it was included, there has been no follow-through nor is the Minister falling over himself to outline what he has tried to do. He is basically saying it cannot be done and we will see what happens in future. Maybe I am wrong and am being unduly harsh towards the Minister, but perhaps he will outline the efforts that he has made with his European counterparts to achieve this objective. It would be expected that when it is in the programme for Government, a genuine effort would be made to achieve it. Fianna Fáil's submission to the next CAP gives a commitment to introduce a maximum CAP payment of €60,000. The leaked draft document indicates that the Commission is considering a cap of between €60,000 and €100,000. Will the Minister say what efforts he has made to achieve it in terms of a mid-term review of the current CAP programme?

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