Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after ??Seanad Éireann?? and substitute the following:
??recognises the importance of an effective and well-resourced Common Agricultural Policy in creating sustainable development of agriculture across Europe supporting the ambitions and targets of the Irish Agricultural Sector;
notes that the amount of EU funding attributable to CAP will depend on the outcome of parallel negotiations for the new Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) for the EU budget from 2014 onwards;
recognises the need for the current reform discussions to respond to future challenges for agriculture and rural areas, increasingly from external sources, so as to maintain viable food production, sustainable management of natural resources and respond to climate changes;
notes reform proposals in respect of the distribution of funds among and within Member States;
notes the introduction of a greening component as an additional environmental measure beyond cross compliance and supports the encouragement of sustainable agriculture;
notes the proposals for increasing criteria applicable to rural development and recognises the need for criteria to be easily assessable with no additional administrative burden;
notes that there will be a re-balancing of payments from those member states that have traditionally benefited more from CAP due to the historic reference basis;
notes that Fianna Fáil launched the Suckler Cow Welfare Scheme in 2008 with some 50,000 farmers with 750,000 cows joining up. Welfare and weaning practices have improved significantly with improved performance and quality and a major reduction in disease problems and treatments;
notes that Irish Farmers already produce to the highest environmental standards and that no further ?Green Tape? should be placed on their shoulders;
notes that only 6% of farmers across the EU are under the age of 35 and approximately 5m farmers of the 13.7m farmers across Europe will retire over the next ten years it is therefore vital that young farmers are supported and smooth transitions on farms facilitated;
calls on the Minister to ensure that the CAP supports the maintenance of family farms, ensuring food security, sustainable production and affordable high quality produce for the consumer within the national context of achieving Food Harvest 2020 objectives;
calls on the Minister to ensure that the funding for the Suckler Cow Welfare Scheme is defended and set out in CAP post 2013 to help sustain a marginal section of the industry with little profit but which plays an integral role in the overall beef industry;
calls on the Minister to endorse and defend the sheep payment option (Sheep Grassland Scheme) to help support Irish Farmers in a marginal sector;
calls on the Government to seek further measures to support the gradual retirement of the 5m farmers across Europe due to retire over the coming years and to ensure production levels remain unaffected and the role of these farmers in the fabric of rural life is maintained;
calls on the Government to ensure Ireland maintains its percentage share of the CAP to the new accession States;
calls on the Government to absolutely ensure that the ?greening? component does not create an additional layer of red tape for farmers but that the green ethos of Irish farmers already in place should serve to facilitate this element of CAP reform;
calls on the Minister to uphold Irish interests by defining ?active farmer in the future?. The definition of an active farmer is crucial to the effective functioning of CAP and the commission has put forward an inevitably contentious description of an active farmer;
calls on the Minister to cap the maximum Single Farm Payment post 2013 and making corporations and conglomerates ineligible for Single Farm Payment;
calls on the Minister to reverse the cuts this year to the Disadvantaged Area Scheme and the maintenance of a strong DAS in the new CAP;
calls on the Minister to ensure a strongly funded environmental scheme is provided for post 2013 under the new CAP;
calls on the Government to engage in a determined and constructive manner to ensure that the EU Multi Annual Finance Framework (MFF) 2014-2020 funding level for CAP is maintained and agreed so as to provide for a strongly funding CAP 2014- 2020;
and
calls on the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to continue strong negotiations on CAP Reform in order to maintain Ireland?s direct payments and rural development at current levels as a means of best achieving Food Harvest 2020 targets and supporting family farms.??.

I welcome the Minister back to the House. I hope Senator O'Neill knows a little more about hurling because he seems to have some amnesia around what happened during the last spell in government when agriculture was supported in every way possible. It was the European Commission that inflicted the situation of cuts whereby the REPS had to end. That was one of the best schemes in the country. I can understand the Senator is a little excited after last Sunday-----