Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. We accept that while the current CAP is higher than before, he must realise that in real terms it is substantially reduced as Irish farmers are dealing with rising costs of doing business while at the same time being expected to do more with their payments. The CAP was brought in for food production first, but at this stage it has been eaten up by green issues and climate change. The amount of bureaucracy and red tape piled onto farmers now means they are doing more work for more or less the same money.

It would not have been an issue if the Government had listened to the Opposition. Sinn Féin previously called for a higher CAP allocation the Government failed to secure.

While the current CAP is higher, we are not getting the same bang for our buck from the money. The Minister was given a means to address that back in January when the EU Agriculture Commissioner said he would support a higher CAP budget under the multi-annual financial framework, MMF, review. So far there has been very little reporting on the terms of the review, which commenced in June. We want to see an update from the Minister on whether he sought a higher CAP allocation.

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