Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Commissioner to the House and compliment him on all the great work he has done to date in what is a demanding brief. It is particularly demanding at the moment with the review of CAP, Brexit and the foreign trade deals all being so interlinked and influential on each other. We could quote an old slogan of ours. The Commissioner has a lot done but there is a hell of a lot more to do. It is only when all three fall into place that we will get a clearer picture of each one individually and the future for the agriculture sector. Indeed, the entire rural community of Ireland is dependent on all three.

On the CAP review, I know the Commissioner has travelled the highways and byways of Europe to get agreement among 27 diverse nations. I was at the conference in Brussels on Tuesday and the points being made on subsidiarity referred to the difference, geographically and climatically, between Greece and Finland. It would be advantageous that each individual state would have more input under subsidiarity. However, when we get down to the negotiations within the state and the roles that the governments and the administrations would play, we can use our own island as an example. There are major differences in geography, climate and constraints within the island. There is no comparison in how one would farm in Donegal and west Cork. Indeed, as two Leinster men, I can say that north Westmeath is worlds apart from the great conditions in the Commissioner's native Kilkenny. Yet, as the crow flies, we would be only a few miles apart. When the Commissioner does have to deal with subsidiarity, perhaps it is not going to be advantageous or clear cut. It may create some issues not yet foreseen and examined.

In every CAP review the word "simplification" is always a leader. I am old enough to have witnessed a few different CAP reforms. I did not see anything getting any simpler. I say that as a farmer. With each new CAP, things become a little more complicated for the farmer on the ground. I would go as far as to say that with subsidiarity we question the whole title of "common" agriculture policy. It is very hard to put the three words "subsidiarity", "simplification" and "common" into the one sentence when we are discussing CAP reform.

On market volatility, I welcome moves to police the retailing sector. Outside of farming circles and the political arena, the argument will be made that if farmers were getting a fair price for their produce, CAP, and indeed Brexit, would not play such a significant part in the overall situation of the sector. The single farm payment is 113% of the income of Irish suckler farmers and beef farmers. Think about that for a second. It is over 100% of their income. Brexit and CAP are very much interlinked and because the UK is a net contributor, as the Commissioner is aware, there is going to be a hole in the budget. At this stage we are most likely looking at a reduction of the budget, unless the Commissioner can pull this one out of the fire. This is at a time when Irish farmers need an actual increase in funding to counteract the losses from Brexit.

The Irish agricultural sector was the first to be hit by Brexit. The day after the referendum, it started impacting on our export business because of the fluctuation in sterling. I refer to the mushroom business in particular. While realistically we would be looking for an increase in the budget, it is more likely that there could be a reduction. I refer to how the remaining budget is distributed. There is a train of thought out there in Ireland that this is not as big an issue as farming organisations are making out. Many people think this is free money coming from Brussels. However, the entire rural community, the small and medium enterprises, SMEs, of Ireland, that are based rurally, are totally dependent on the CAP and the money that the farmers receive through the CAP. They may not even realise it.

A friend of mine in the Gallery runs an SME. It supplies the agricultural industry. If CAP was cut by 10%, that would in essence be a 10% cut in his turnover. That would definitely put one and possibly two jobs in jeopardy. That is just one example - it is replicated all over rural Ireland. It is not just the farming community that will suffer if CAP is cut. We need to sell that story more. We need the other sectors fighting on our behalf and not just the farm organisations.

We all wear the green jersey on this one. The Commissioner is not going to get any criticism from me but I plead with him to stay on the highways and byways of Europe. He has to get consensus from the governments still not prepared to up their contribution to the multi-annual financial framework. Ireland has agreed and I welcome that. If the countries still lagging behind can be persuaded, then at least the worst case scenario is that we will be able to hold the budget as is. However, if it is possible at all, I ask the Commissioner to get an increase.