Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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9. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the timelines for informing the EU on final national decisions on Pillars 1 and 2 of the Common Agricultural Policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20339/14]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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This is a very straightforward question. I understand there are timelines for informing the European Commission on Pillars 1 and 2. Will the Minister confirm these timelines?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It is a very fair question. We are in the process of finalising Pillars 1 and 2 at present. The more complex element is Pillar 2 with regard to rural development funding, which is approximately €4 billion, 46% of which comes from the Exchequer. We hope to have it finalised so we can send a package for approval by the Commission for Pillars 1 and 2 by the end of June. I believe the deadline required by the Commission is the end of July but I am open to be corrected on this. We would like to get in a bit before this and we should be in a position to do so. The Commission will then go through the procedure of assessing what is quite a complex rural development programme from our perspective. We are already discussing some aspects of the rural development programme with the Commission to ensure the rules allow us to do what we want to do. I suspect its assessment of our rural development programme will take a number of months and this will impact on when we can open big schemes such as GLAS following this approval. I hope it will be by the end of the year so we can get information out to farmers as soon as possible.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Is it intended to run a public consultation process in June with farmers on the total package of the final draft proposals on Pillars 1 and 2, particularly in view of the fact time is on the Minister's side? Until farmers see the total package there is no way they can make a judgment on whether they think it is fair. Such a consultation process would allow farmers to give feedback to the Minister so he can make final amendments to the aggregate plan.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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We have had more consultation with farmers and other stakeholders on this CAP reform than on any other agriculture reform. I have spent much time meeting farming organisations and meeting farmers who are not members of farming organisations. We have had a written submission process as well as multiple consultation processes. Next week we will publish a very close to final document as a result of all of this consultation. I do not expect we will open this up to broad consultation and start the process all over again. I know the Deputy would like to do this and he has been trying to do it at some of the meetings he has had with farmers.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Yes.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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He has raised a hope that we can fundamentally change direction at the last minute-----

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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We could.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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-----which we cannot do.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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We can.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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We will not see a whole series of very public stakeholder meetings in the weeks before we finalise a document. We will publish what we have next week and stakeholders, farmers and farming organisations will have an opportunity, if they wish, to express concerns about it. We are at the 11th hour in finalising a comprehensive submission. This has been a two-year process, and my officials would argue it has been a four-year process, and we are at the very end of it.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister published his Pillar 2 proposals in a very vague draft format and it is very hard to get information from him on spending. It was published at the beginning of the year. How many public meetings which farmers could attend has the Minister held since it was published? Will the Minister give a further idea of the public consultation he will have on the total package?

Until now, the Minister has said, "Here is Pillar 1, but we will not tell you what Pillar 2 is; here is a vague version as we do not know what the exact detail is." However, the devil is often in the detail.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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That is not true. People are very clear on it.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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They are not.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Is the Minister telling me that the figure is fixed for 80% of farmers in commonages and that 80% of farmers will have to join the scheme on the same day?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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No; the Deputy said that, not me.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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It is in the Minister's document.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The consultation process has been ongoing for well over one year. The Deputy only decided to engage in the last few months. That is his problem.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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That is not true; I have been engaging in it.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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No, the Deputy has not.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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That is an untruth.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has engaged only in the last few months.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I engaged from the very beginning, from the time I was appointed Fianna Fáil spokesperson on agriculture. I have since gone around the country. I have always said I cannot judge it until I receive the full package.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Does he want me to answer his question?

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister knows the answer, but he tried to trick people, with the old spider and the fly trick, into accepting his Pillar 1 proposal. He then came up with this rubbish Pillar 2 proposal.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is getting agitated.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I am very agitated.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is grandstanding.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is mistreating the vast majority of farmers.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is absolutely mistreating them. He is trying to keep a very unfair system in place.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister will not engage in debate and has not been attending public meetings because he is afraid that he might be challenged. He does not have the answers to why his system is totally unfair.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I attended a public meeting in Cashel last week at which we debated these issues.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I know. It took us three months to get the Minister to a public meeting and I understand only 60 people turned up to hear him.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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For the information of the House, I attended a whole series of public meetings at which the big policy issues were debated and discussed.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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There were four meetings in the whole process.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As far as I can remember, the Deputy did not turn up at any of them.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is now avoiding the issue.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I had extensive public meetings at the point in the process when big policy decisions were being made. I received a mandate from farmers to pursue a certain direction and we achieved all of the targets we set for ourselves following the achievement of that mandate from farmers. We have been following through on a consultation process as these policy decisions must be implemented effectively. We have organised and facilitated public meetings at which departmental officials have explained to farmers how the policy decisions we have taken are likely to affect them and be implemented. My officials have done a good job in that regard. The Deputy is trying to open up a political policy debate.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Of course.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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He has missed the boat.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I have not.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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That is the reality and why he is so upset.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I will keep at it.