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

I share the Deputy's analysis that Pillar II is very important because we have used it to be quite innovative in terms of the challenges we face. The Deputy mentioned GLAS and there is also beef data and genomics programme, BDGP, which is helping us meet the objectives of the environmental area and climate change, perhaps ahead of other member states. We have used Pillar II very significantly. It is co-funded and any cut there would be regressive in the context of our ambition to meet the new challenges, particularly around climate change.

I believe it would be strategically incorrect for us to now put our hand up and say that we will make up the shortfall when, in fact, our overwhelming objective is to secure an adequate budget from CAP funding, so we will have a properly funded Pillar II. I appreciate all the schemes that flow from it, including areas of natural constraint, Leader and so on. However, our objective now is to get the best possible outcome in terms of the CAP negotiations and look then at what our national obligations will be in terms of co-funding. I believe it would be strategically wrong now to let the Commission off the hook and say that whatever it decides to cut, we will make up anyway. That would be strategically incorrect.

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