Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The CAP agreement was referred to. I congratulate the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, on it. It is an honour for Ireland because we have held the Presidency of the European Council since January and will hold it until June. That the agreement was reached under the Minister's stewardship is unique and I congratulate him on it because I do not believe the deal would have been driven through without his energy.

I ask the Leader to arrange for a debate on the CAP agreement. This is important, because the CAP agreement is not about redistributing funds, but about supporting active farmers, young farmers and new entrants into farming. It is also about providing flexibility and I believe the Minister has managed to get flexibility with regard to how funds are distributed. Senator Comiskey said it would be about redistributing funds from larger farmers to smaller farmers on small payments, but that is not what it is about. It is about active farmers, young farmers and new entrants.

I congratulate the Minister with regard to the agreement reached on sugar quotas. We exited the sugar regime in Europe a few years ago and it was a sorry day for Ireland when that happened. Agreement has been reached now that sugar quotas will disappear in September 2017. We have companies, such as Beet Ireland, which are actively trying to encourage the growing of beet here again and perhaps we will announce the site for a new factory within the next two months. Sugar beet was a very important industry for agriculture in Ireland and I believe it will fit in well with the new CAP regime. That is part of the reason I asked for a debate on CAP.

I asked for this debate previously in the context of the policies of the parties in the Opposition, Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil, and their position on the CAP payments. It is important to have a debate in the House on CAP reform so that we can hear the policies of the Opposition. They cannot play both sides all the time.