Dáil debates

Thursday, 22 April 2021

Common Agricultural Policy Reform: Motion [Private Members]

 

7:35 pm

Photo of Verona MurphyVerona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank my Independent colleagues for bringing this motion to the floor of the Dáil and giving us the opportunity to debate it. At the outset, in the context of CAP reform, I would like to discuss convergence. In principle, convergence is a great idea but it should not be used in agriculture. Where it should be tested is in the Civil Service and I would urge the Minister to introduce a pilot scheme in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. For those who might not know how convergence works, I will provide a short explanation. Applying convergence in the Civil Service would mean that the upper Civil Service staff such as those at Secretary General level would take a sizeable reduction in their salary, which would then be redistributed down to the lower echelons of staff, to clerical officers and cleaners, for example. The money lost at the higher levels would be redistributed down to the lower levels and that would be done on an annual basis. When that is piloted in the Civil Service and accepted by civil servants, then maybe it will be time to try it in agriculture.

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