Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is no doubt but that the decision by Britain to leave the EU poses challenges and is regularly given as a reason and rationale for the CAP budget being reduced. What is not highlighted or made clear is that despite the fact Britain is leaving, the overall MFF will be larger this time than the last time. The MFF proposals show the overall EU budget going from €1,087 billion to €1,279 billion. That is an increase of almost €200 million in the overall MFF. The problem within that is the priority that was given to the CAP programme within that proposed MFF structure, in which the overall CAP allocation has dropped from 38% of the overall budget last time around to 28.5% this time. That represents a political failure to prioritise agriculture as a crucial part of the European budget to ensure it was not reduced. It also represents a real failure at domestic level in respect of the impact it will have on farm incomes, as 75% of net farm incomes are based on CAP payments. It is crucial the Minister works with the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Phil Hogan, and the Minister's counterparts across other European countries to ensure we grab back our proportion of the overall European budget, and to ensure we do not continue down this slippery slope, which has been presided over in the last number of CAP programmes, where agriculture and its funding have continually been eroded.

See this speech in context