Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome Francis Gorman, president of the IFA, and his colleague to the Gallery.

The Common Agricultural Policy was launched way back in 1962 as a partnership between Europe and its farmers. Its aims, which have evolved since then, are to support farmers and improve agricultural productivity, ensuring a stable supply of affordable food; to safeguard EU farmers such that they would be able to make a reasonable living from their practices; to help tackle climate change and sustainably manage our natural resources; to maintain rural areas and landscapes across the European Union; and to keep the rural economy alive by promoting jobs in farming, agrifood industries and associated sectors.

The Common Agricultural Policy is for all EU countries. The CAP budget for 2023 to 2027 is €378 billion, or 31% of the total EU budget. CAP's share of the EU budget has been steadily declining over the years and has never been adjusted for inflation over the decades. That needs to be acknowledged. I am sure the Minister will bring it home to his colleagues in Europe because it is a serious issue. The future of the CAP budget and its Pillar 2 structure are under threat with proposals and kite-flying from the Commission about amalgamating the CAP budget with other funds to produce a single funding scheme. That is a dangerous situation about which we have to be very careful. It would have a devastating impact on the future of Irish and EU agriculture, food security and the family farm. It would end Pillar 2 and dedicated CAP budgets for agriculture. This cannot be allowed to happen and must be resisted at every opportunity.

We are living in a time of uncertainty where there is a lot of instability globally and politically as well as the economic challenges of climate change and the threat of trade wars. Food security must be top of the agenda. To ensure we have food security, the CAP budget must be protected and enhanced. The CAP budget is worth €10 billion to Irish farm families. Our CAP strategic plan sets out how to protect family farm incomes, recognise the hard work of our family farms and support Ireland's climate ambitions. This all sounds good on paper but the reality is different for many farm families, unfortunately. There are consistent delays in payments, of which a prime example is ACRES, which the Minister mentioned. Farmers are waiting up to two years for ACRES payments. These delays are for the most part the Department's fault, which of course blames IT issues. We hear the Government talk about simplifying the CAP and reducing the bureaucracy and red tape for farmers. It must have forgot to tell Department of agriculture this because the Department continues to come up with more and more complicated schemes that even its own officials do not understand. Its IT department must have been kept in the dark because it seems to be the number one reason for delaying farm payments.

While we face uncertain times in terms of the CAP budget, farmers north of the Border are already experiencing cuts to farm payments due to Brexit. While I am sure many of them are enjoying sunshine today in Balmoral, they have concerns about the future of farming. I urge the Minister to work with his counterpart in the Assembly and develop an all-Ireland agriculture and food security policy. Agriculture and food production travel North and South. It would be beneficial to farmers North and South to have an all-Ireland agriculture and food policy, including food standards and plans to mitigate disease such as foot and mouth coming to our shores.

Farmers are experiencing high prices for livestock at present as the trade at marts is very strong. This is obviously welcome; it was the opposite for far too long. There is concern that international trade deals will impact this, notably the Mercosur trade deal, and that the announcement last week of a trade deal between the USA and the UK will see US beef imported into Britain. The UK is Ireland's biggest market for beef. Sinn Féin has been consistent in our opposition to the Mercosur trade deal. We will continue to oppose it as it is a bad deal for Irish farmers and European consumers. It is unfortunate that the Government has been so half-hearted in its opposition to that and failed to attend a meeting of EU member states that have concerns about Mercosur. Will the Government support the proposal by France to include a handbrake mechanism to deal with such an impact on EU farmers?

A big issue for farm families is the uncertainty of the future. As we have seen in previous CAP negotiations, they are often rushed at the end and the budget is just agreed as they start talking about the next CAP. We need to stretch the CAP term to eight or ten years and give farm families more certainty to plan for the future.

Farmers have always stepped up to the mark when it comes to protecting our environment. They signed up in record numbers to agri-environmental schemes even though the implementation of the schemes by the Department has caused a lot of disillusionment among farmers. It can be difficult for farmers to understand what is behind some of these schemes. For example, a few years ago, farmers were paid to cut hedges and clear bushes and scrub away from their land. Now, they get payments to plant hedges and leave bushes and scrub where they are. The Minister mentioned GAEC 2. There is a lot of uncertainty and difficulty for farmers in regard to GAEC 2. I accept there may be a certain amount of gaslighting; some people are saying the world is going to fall in and so on, but when there is an absence of clear information, that will happen. A clear pathway needs to be set out as to the consequences of GAEC 2 today and in the future. Many farmers are still uncertain about that.

Forestation is also a huge problem. Many farmers planted small pieces of land and those forests are on the ground now. They have serious difficulty getting a return from them. A lot of work needs to be done on many of these issues.

Generational renewal is a big challenge facing Irish agriculture. The average age of the Irish farmer is 58, with 38% over 65. We need to encourage and provide invectives for the next generation to take on the family farm. There is an opportunity for the next CAP to do this. I hope it will be high on the Government's agenda when it negotiates the next CAP. One of the main objectives is that our young people are encouraged to take up farming, that they can see a future and opportunity to make a living and a reasonable income from farming. We will not have food security if we do not have a next generation of farmers.

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