Mr. Phil Hogan:

I thank Senators for their contributions and good wishes. I thank the Leader of the House, Senator Cummins. A number of Senators, including Senators Comiskey and Ó Clochartaigh, mentioned the beef genomics scheme. The beef genomics scheme is an agri-environment measure. Under every agri-environment measure the term is five to seven years. This is the legal requirement under EU regulations and law. If a member state puts forward a proposal as an agri-environment measure, a farmer is obliged to comply with the rules and regulations surrounding an agri-environment measure, that is to say, five to seven years. That has been in place for the REPS and AEOS arrangements and so on. It should be no surprise to people. The farm organisations should tell their farmers that this is the position and that it is an agri-environment scheme. The six-year issue comes into play on the basis that it has to be designated as an agri-environment scheme and this means farmers have to stay in the scheme for between five and seven years. There is no way around that under EU legislation.

I agree with Senator Darragh O'Brien that the family farm model is the one we wish to support and sustain in the European Union. We will not promote the industrialisation of European agriculture. When American families talk about the family farm, they are talking about 2,500 ha. They have no notion of what the European family farm model is in the way we know it. In effect, we are on a different ranch in practice in terms of the definition of "family farm".

I fully agree with Senator O'Brien's point on the unfair trading practices that are a potential source of irritation to the producers, in particular in view of the fact that there has been a considerable decline in the share of both the output and the margin of profitability to the producer vis-à-visother actors in the food chain in recent years. If one does not have a producer, one will not have a product, and if one does not have a product, one cannot have the employment opportunities upstream or downstream of it, whether it is chocolate in conjunction with the dairy sector or the beef processing sector. At all times it is important we ensure the necessary product is being produced in line with the traceability and food quality regimes we have put in place for producers.

There are opportunities for specialisation in the European agricultural scene. Irish agriculture has great advantages and opportunities in terms of where small farmers in particular can be supported in horticulture or specialising in plant breeding or young trees, for example, which have significant potential for export, as is the case in the Netherlands. We have models of best practice that could be utilised for smaller producers in this country that are already in place in other member states of the European Union and being supported by their national and European programmes.

The free trade agreements we are exploring at the moment are hugely important. We must find other markets to replace the market potential we had with the Russian Federation. We have been quite successful in getting some support for products such as pigmeat in the Philippines, and some additional support for our beef and dairy products in the Far East. A very important part of my work is to go to the marketplace to develop linkages for European farmers in terms of marketing our product. Expanding to more specialised markets is the only way we can deal with the increased level of milk production we will have in the future and the opportunities for jobs in that regard. We have an opportunity to increase exports due to the increasing level of demand, in particular in the Far East, where 150 million people per annum will go into a higher level of income bracket and therefore will have the disposable income to buy some of those products.

Senator Landy should know he does not need to tell a Kilkenny man about heritage and hurling. We appreciate that to a considerable extent and I am pleased to be able to acknowledge and support it in every possible way. The European Investment Bank, EIB, loans provide an opportunity to advance some of the investment that is required in so many areas of agriculture. We launched a European programme today in the National Convention Centre in Dublin with the input of the European Investment Bank. Once the Government modifies its rural development programme it will be able to provide low-interest loans over a longer period which will help to establish more of a fixed cost in terms of the cost of money for investments it makes in capital or otherwise. That is a very exciting opportunity for agribusiness and Leader companies if they wish to participate. Low-interest loans over a longer period are more beneficial than grants. We must remove ourselves from the grant mentality, as it is not the be-all and end-all but rather one option that is available.

I agree with Senator Landy’s assessment of the beet industry. It was a very profitable crop and it is most regrettable that the beet industry was allowed to decline with the consequent direct and indirect employment opportunities lost to rural Ireland. It will be difficult to restore the beet industry. We will no longer have sugar beet quotas after 2017 and when the assessments were carried out on the redevelopment of the industry in Carlow and Kildare, it was done on the basis that €40 a tonne could be paid to farmers for growing sugar beet with €700 a tonne for sugar on the marketplace. That market has now reduced to €420 a tonne. The viability of the project is very important from the point of view of private investors and farmers and they must assess the figures in terms of viability in a very hard-headed way. I am not in a position to fully understand what the private sector is going to do in this regard but I am aware of some interest in the project in Carlow-Kildare. However, the figures may not add up at the moment and we have to face that fact if we want to restore the industry.

I assure Senator O'Brien that EU quality standards on food will be maintained in any international agreement, whether with the United States or anybody else. Farmers and producers in Ireland and in Europe have gone through the pain barrier in respect of the traceability they are now obliged to have from farm to fork and we will not sacrifice that to get any old deal. I have been in the United States on two occasions and have been involved in the negotiations on the agricultural side. I am not optimistic about an agreement between now and the end of this year. Elections will take over in the United States and positions will harden but that does not mean Europe has to capitulate to do a deal. I expect we will have a difficult time trying to achieve a comprehensive agreement in that timeline. The talks cover all sectors including industrial goods, services procurement and many areas on which the authorities in the United States have refused to move in the past couple of months, despite the best efforts of the European Union trade negotiator, Commissioner Malmström.

The President of the European Commission, Mr. Juncker, stated quite explicitly that societal concerns, as well as science concerns, were applicable to the GMO regime. He is of a strong view on this and that is why the proposal generated in recent times threw the issue back to member states. If they want to have technology in the form of GM then they must opt in or opt out of a particular proposal, rather than hiding behind the Commission. It should be science based and that has been the case with the importing of soya bean from the United States for our animal feed sector. Some applications are rejected, more are approved and, recently, there have been 19 authorisations from the United States. They had been in train for a number of years but decisions have now been made and we can move forward to provide vital raw material for the animal feed sector in the European Union, otherwise we will not have a competitive sector. We cannot have it every way. We eat food which results from imported soya bean that may be GM-produced but we do not want to grow it ourselves so there is a bit of a problem. Over the years we have generated that problem for ourselves by not being straight and having one policy or another. I hope we will be able to come to a more satisfactory outcome with our legislators between now and the end of the year. The committees on environment and agriculture are discussing this in the European Parliament in the next month.

Simplification of the CAP is very important to me but when 8,000 amendments are put down by the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in the European Parliament, as happened on the last occasion, it is very hard to be simple with this matter. I have now been tasked with unravelling some of the detail and complexity in the decisions of 2013. As a politician, I understand how these things happen but this has had an impact on the farmer, on food companies and on the member states who want to deliver it without the necessary bureaucracy and administrative burden that goes along with it.

I am anxious to make progress on it this year and to finetune some of the policies to bring coherence to the issue. We can then look at changing the legislation in the next two years to remove some of the administrative burden while at the same time protecting European taxpayers, who put in €56 million a year to provide support for policies that result in the good quality food on our tables which we often take for granted. We have to strike a balance and the simplification of our policy will hopefully achieve that. Ultimately we will then be able to streamline some of the systems.

I also draw Senators' attention to the rural investment we have announced today in the form of loans from the European Investment Bank. This gives the opportunity for young farmers starting off, for food companies that want to expand, for the dairy processing sector that wants to expand, post-milk quota, for forestry and green infrastructure and for storage facilities. These can now be funded through the rural development programme and EIB loans. If we can offer long-term loans at low interests, it is a positive day for rural Ireland.

I agree with Senator Norris that we ignored the welfare of citizens. The fiscal and economic adjustments that had to be made were very painful for Irish and European citizens, but we often ignored the welfare of citizens and of society. That is why the Commission has in recent weeks been discussing social policy objectives for the European Union. We should not be solely concerned with fiscal adjustment and economic policies. Our policies should also reflect social concerns, whether in respect of labour market mobility or high levels of unemployment, particularly among young people. In Spain, for example, 23% of the unemployed are young people. We are conscious of our social obligations under the Union and its treaties.