Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am taking it because the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, is away on official business. I welcome the opportunity to update the House on the matter.

The receipt of the observations letter from the European Commission on 31 March marks another important milestone in the development of Ireland’s CAP strategic plan for the period 2023 to 2027. Ireland is one of the 19 member states that submitted plans ahead of the statutory deadline of 1 January last and to which the Commission is now responding following an assessment by all of the relevant Commission services, including those responsible for agriculture, climate and the environment.

The Commission has carried out a comprehensive assessment of Ireland’s draft plan. The observations, which number over 200, set out high-level and more detailed technical observations. The letter acknowledges the quality of the plan. It notes the coherency of the plan, the level of completeness covering all of the specific objectives of the CAP and the European Commission recommendations. It notes that potential to contribute effectively to a competitive, resilient and diversified agricultural sector that ensures long term food security. From an environment and climate perspective, it welcomes the ambitious approach to landscape actions through the flagship agri-environment and climate measure, AECM, which will benefit water, biodiversity and climate, as well as the setting of a national target for the European Green Deal, including our significant ambition in organics, nutrient loss and landscape fixtures. However, areas have been identified where the Commission considers that we have an opportunity to strengthen our ambition and to set higher targets. They are requesting more information on the extent of environmental benefit that will be achieved by some interventions, including the new eco-scheme intervention. They note also the environmental challenges resulting from the substantial growth in the dairy herd. The Commission has also asked all member states to review their plans in the context of the impacts arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In terms of next steps, the Secretary General of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has already provided an initial reaction by way of written response to the observations to the Commission. I understand that the Commission intends to publish the observation letters of all 19 member states and their responses shortly. The Department has already published the Commission’s observation letter on the Government website.

The Department officials are currently in regular bilateral discussions with the European Commission to finalise the plan. The approval process will be a continuation of the structured dialogue with the Commission. The latter has proven to be very effective to date. The officials will provide the necessary clarifications and explanations in more detail around the level of environmental gain expected from the interventions. We consider that all elements of the green architecture must be considered as a package. There has been extensive engagement with the stakeholders. The plan strikes the right balance to support the economic, environmental and social sustainability of the sector. Other supports outside of CAP will also be required to achieve climate and environmental targets, including regulation, industry market initiatives and new technologies and innovations.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will continue to consult with stakeholders as the approval process unfolds over the coming months. A meeting of the CAP stakeholder consultative committee is scheduled for Friday of this week. It is anticipated that work will intensify over the coming weeks to reach agreement on the draft plan before the summer break. It is anticipated that the final CAP strategic plan for Ireland will be adopted by September of this year, allowing the new CAP plan to begin as planned on 1 January 2023.

Overall, the Minister and the Department are confident that the CAP plan is robust, that it will support farm incomes and that it helps deliver on our climate ambitions. The Minister asked me to inform Deputy Carthy that if he has any specific questions, I will take them on board and feed them back to the Minister.

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