Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad the Minister has reiterated that the current proposals are unacceptable. I understand that there are 15 or 16 like-minded member states. I hope the Heads of Government or Heads of State of those member states are of the same opinion as their Agriculture Ministers. Perhaps the Minister will let us know the Taoiseach's opinion on adequate funding for CAP. As the Minister quite rightly stated, it is not acceptable that a greater onus is being placed on farmers to do more for less money. We are all very conscious of the significant income pressures being faced by people in all sectors of farming community. Does the Minister think that an urgency is being attached to finalising the budget by the end of the year? Under a contingency that was put in place by Commissioner Hogan, the budget might be rolled over by a year if the MFF is not complete. What is the outlook at present? What is the likely timescale for the completion of the MFF level of funding and the CAP budget? Are we likely to see those issues being prioritised and finalised in early in the lifetime of the new Commission?

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