Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As we discuss the proposed new CAP today, it is important to take a moment to acknowledge the vital role it has played and will continue to play in the future for Irish agriculture and for farm families. The CAP protects family farm incomes, supports the rural economy, ensures the production of high-quality safe food for consumers and protects rural landscapes and the environment. It is not a case of simply supporting farmers. It does so much more than that and is a policy that Ireland has continually led on and supported. We now owe it to our farmers and to the rural economy to deliver a new CAP that will continue to position Ireland as a sustainable food production capital of the world.

Across the European Union more than ten million family farms are supported by the CAP. It supports job creation and economic growth and plays a vital role in rural areas in particular. Around 40% of the land area of the EU is managed under the CAP, so in addition to the provision of food, a range of public goods is delivered by CAP schemes. Ireland’s agri-environment scheme, GLAS, supports almost 50,000 farmers to undertake actions which benefit biodiversity, landscape, water and climate change. The innovative approach of the European innovation partnership programmes has also seen strong participation in actions to support farming for nature.

Today the reality is that the EU, including Ireland, is a leader in sustainable agriculture while delivering high standards of food safety along with high standards in animal health and welfare. With the launch of the Green Deal as well as the Farm to Fork and biodiversity strategies, the EU has declared its intention to transform the sustainability of European food systems and to work collectively with its trading partners to achieve this on a global scale. Alongside the current European standards and achievements in the agrifood sector, we must now look forward to the changes proposed in the next CAP which will support this transformation to the next level. While we do so, we must ensure that our farmers and food producers are at the very centre of everything we do in CAP. We will continue to listen to and engage with our farmers as we navigate through CAP.

As we prepare to implement Ireland’s national CAP strategic plan, we must be able to continue to support the production of quality food while recognising that the demands to improve outcomes from the environmental and public goods perspective have increased significantly. We have to prepare to meet these. In so doing, we must consider not just what we are doing now but how much more we will have to do to meet the future challenges. We need to improve outcomes with regard to sustainability. This is vital both for climate change and to ensure the protection and future success of our national agriculture sector. We cannot and will not stand still.

Over the years we have seen CAP supports ensure that the EU has developed self-sufficiency in food production and has become a major global exporter of quality food and drinks. As we move out of the acute stages of the Covid-19 pandemic we must acknowledge the vital role played by agriculture and Irish farm families, supported by the CAP, throughout the pandemic. Hard working Irish farmers and the operation of the EU single market have shown that the CAP can and does deliver. Our citizens, who have had much to worry about during the pandemic, did not have to worry about their food security. Let us be very clear that this policy is vital and the steps we take to implement the next CAP and the choices we make will have huge significance for the sector and for all of us. Our challenge is that the CAP must preserve food production and, with the same level of success, ensure sustainability.

The food and drinks industry is Ireland’s largest indigenous industry, accounting for more than €14 billion in exports. As Minister of State with responsibility for new market development, this is a key area of focus for me. We are always proactively seeking out new markets to reward our farmers and processors. Ireland’s reputation for safe, sustainable and nutritious food is recognised worldwide. This is exemplified by Origin Green, the world's first food and drink sustainability programme operating on a national scale.

Across Europe the introduction of the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy have put climate at the centre of all policy choices. We all recognise the important role the European agriculture sector must play in the achievement of a higher level of climate ambition over the period to 2050. However, we must also acknowledge the challenges that the Farm to Fork strategy will present for all Member States.

Ireland has welcomed the vision of sustainability set out in the new Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy. We expect the new CAP to contribute closely to the achievement of these strategies. It will be important that any targets to be met are backed by comprehensive impact assessments and work is already underway on these.

Targets must also take account of the different starting points of member states and the sectors concerned.

The CAP regulations and the strategic plans that are being prepared provide a good basis for incorporating the objectives of the farm to fork strategy. However, I do not believe that just one policy, even one as substantial as the CAP, could have the ability to deliver all of what is needed to achieve this ambitious vision. With such a high level of ambition, innovation will be necessary right along the food production value chain. Achieving this ambition will require new business models and partnerships with producers, industry and consumers all working together. However, none of us could argue with the ambition to move towards a healthier and more sustainable food system. The next CAP can make a strong contribution towards this innovation in our most important indigenous sector. It will be vital that we achieve the necessary flexibility in the outcome at the European level to allow us to prepare the most impactful CAP strategic plan for Ireland.

Farm structures differ across Europe. If we are to ensure the correct support to achieve the change we want, we must be able to fashion our own destiny. This process will take place with ongoing consultation. There are differences of opinion and concerns. I recognise that it remains the most sensible and prudent course of action to deliver a CAP with the flexibility to make decisions for our farmers. However, we can see clearly that when farmers are offered environmental schemes that suit their farming systems, there is strong support for and substantial take-up of these measures. We can see this in the participation in GLAS and the European innovation partnerships initiative. Ireland has been a leader in implementing these innovative projects and I am delighted they will continue in the next CAP. Farmers are willing to engage and we need to provide schemes that support them. Ireland is only second to Finland in terms of environmental spend in the last CAP. Our farmers have long shown a massive commitment in this area. They are pioneers leading the charge and that will continue.

We must ensure clarity and coherence for farmers in the various requirements across the two pillars of the direct payments and Pillar 2 targeted measures. One of the areas on which Ireland has been seeking certainty for farmers is the definition of eligible hectare. We want to ensure there is no incentive for farmers to remove valuable bio-types and landscape features from their existing areas. This is a matter of extensive debate in the negotiations and we do not yet have certainty in this regard. In all of these debates there is a balance to be struck between the competing objectives of the CAP. However, we are trying to achieve certainty for farmers and we will continue to do so.

It will be important for all of us to proceed with an evidence-based approach. During the process, a number of exercises have been undertaken on the modelling of direct payments. These exercises can be considered further in conjunction with other material on farm payments and incomes such as CSO data and the Teagasc farm income analysis. This modelling work has all been published and is available on gov.ie. Further work is now under way on the redistributive elements.

There has been extensive consultation on direct payment options with the CAP consultative committee stakeholders and a separate questionnaire was issued to stakeholders in this regard. It is clear that these are not simple choices and there is a divergence in opinion on the options before us. Nevertheless, we will continue with this approach of further modelling and consultation with our stakeholders once we have flexibility to shape our future.

Ultimately, all Members, regardless of political persuasion, want the same outcome. We want a CAP that will keep our farmers doing what they do best, namely, producing a world class product which is exported to over 180 markets across the globe.

From my perspective in my role and with my responsibility in the Department for farm safety, I look forward to a higher level of farm safety ambition across this CAP being incorporated across all elements in Ireland. I also look forward to the consultative process we will have with all the stakeholders for the rest of this year to ensure that becomes a reality.

There will be challenges on the road ahead but we must stand firm and stand with our farmers to show we are there for them. There will be change but change does not have to be negative. The Government is with farmers every step of the way. We attach importance to our family farms, the top class sustainable food production systems we have in this country and the vital role farming and agriculture play in the rural economy across the island. With that, I welcome this opportunity for debate and discussion.

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