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

The Deputy is articulating the frustration that is felt by many farmers across the country. The points he raised are not ones I am hearing for the first time. We will have the Presidency of the EU in the second half of 2026, and in my determination as Minister, right at the time of the AGRIFISH Council when the other 26 ministers for agriculture are all looking to agree the new CAP, Ireland will have significant influence in those negotiations.

At the heart of the new CAP that I want to see developed is simplification. I know it has been talked about a lot in the past, but it has not been delivered. We are quite constrained by the costs incurred-income forgone model, which is an impediment. That is not what REPS was. I was in REPS; I remember how great it was. It was on a whole-farm basis. The costs incurred-income forgone model restricts how we can design schemes, in that we cannot pay farmers unless there is additional conditionality. That has meant, in terms of the beef, sheep and agri-environmental schemes, that there is conditionality if we are to get money to farmers. That is a significant impediment. It is something I would love to revisit as part of CAP reform.

On the basic point about ACRES, we will get there, and I want to see ACRES farmers paid, able to commit fully to the scheme and see it developed strongly into the future.

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