Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister mentioned a minimum of 20%. What is his range? The Department issued figures recently on the impact of 85% convergence on Pillar 1 payments. He started out with 100% of the payments, comprising 70% for the basic payment and 30% for the greening. However, the figures used to illustrate the impact of 85% convergence only included 70% for the basic payment and the 30% greening was left out. Those figures were completely misleading. I am not saying anybody set out to mislead, but that was the outcome. We must compare like with like. The Department showed that under 85% convergence, everybody would lose or just barely maintain their payments, but that is mathematically impossible, and the Department knows that. Will the Department compare like with like and give all farmers impartial and accurate figures?

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