Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To pursue the commitments in the programme for Government, which were entered into in good faith, there is a requirement that the door would be kept open at Commission level for a mid-term review of the CAP. That has not happened. As the Deputy is aware, having referred to his party's own submission and the leaked document from the Commission, without a mid-term review there is a headlong progress into the next round of the CAP after 2020. There are leaked documents on maximum payments under the basic payment scheme in that regard, and I support going in that direction. It is worth noting in the context of the last CAP when the then Minister, Deputy Coveney was in office, Ireland campaigned for a significantly lower reduction than the one which was ultimately achieved, but the level of political resistance to it across members states is very substantial. We availed of the maximum discretion available to us to reduce the cap to €150,000. The programme for Government commitment was contingent on there being a mid-term review of CAP. That has not happened. We cannot engineer a mid-term review of CAP for one member state alone. It is a common policy across the 28 member states. The fact that it has not happened has made it more difficult. We are engaged in the context of the next round of CAP, and while we would support a further reduction, from previous experience we are conscious that achieving that is not easy.

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