Peter Callanan (Fianna Fail)

He was devoid of the facts. How could he have the facts when the Council of Ministers negotiated in restricted session from 3 a.m. onwards?

What does the package contain? The reforms will completely change the way the EU supports the farming sector. The new CAP will be geared towards consumers and taxpayers while giving EU farmers the freedom to produce what the market wants. That is what we should have been doing for the last 30 years. In future, the vast majority of subsidies will be paid independently of the volume of production. To avoid abandonment of production, member states can choose to maintain a limited link between a subsidy and production under well defined conditions and within clear limits.

The new single farm payments will be linked to environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards, as well as maintaining farm profitability and producing products that have a place in the market. We import €3 billion worth of food into this State and that is shameful. Those in the processing industry should examine that because there is a market to be entered.