Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last week, the Seanad debated Brexit and the North in the presence of the Tánaiste, where we had an opportunity to put across our concerns. I do not believe I need to say it to the Commissioner, but Europe must defend the Good Friday Agreement. It is an international agreement which protects our peace process and our island. One of the elements underpinning our peace process is the fact that both jurisdictions on the island are within the EU, allowing for the free movement of goods, people, services and capital. That element is critical. My colleague, Senator Conway-Walsh, will elaborate further on this matter.

I will briefly flag the significant issue that is the Mercosur deal. When the Commissioner attended the major public meeting in Kilkenny, he would have heard from farmers about their concerns. More than most in this country, the Commissioner is aware of the threat that the Mercosur deal poses in what is already a tough industry. Will the Commissioner ensure that a proper balance is found and we do not face a major threat? The Irish beef sector is already dealing with the impact of Brexit, and it cannot deal with being flooded by more beef.

I wish to touch on the European Commission's draft proposals regarding unfair trading practices, which are a significant issue for Irish farmers. Historically, they have not got a fair price for their produce across the various sectors. The proposals could have been stronger. The Commissioner stated that it was up to legislators to strengthen them, but the Commission should have made them stronger from the start and let legislators deal with them then. There will still be opportunities for unfair trading practices. For example, I visited a pig farm on the Inishowen Peninsula in recent days. The farmer is losing a considerable amount of money every year. It might be asked why the farmers are not pooling together to deal with the meat factory in question, but the factory pits them against each other. That is how it operates. As the Commissioner knows well, the meat factories, meat cartels and major multiples have been taking the mickey for too long.

This issue has to be dealt with at European level, given that we are in a European market. We have known about the issue for a long time. European payments under CAP have turned into a subsidy for meat factories and supermarkets rather than farmers. It is keeping the factories and supermarkets profitable and leaving our farmers struggling.

That takes me on to my final comments, which relate to CAP 2020. According to today's Irish Farmers' Journal, it has got a hold of the first draft, which still has to go through a number of phases. The editorial contains kind comments for the Commissioner but also highlights some challenges for him. If the figure of a €60,000 cap is correct, it cannot increase in Ireland. We must introduce a cap for payments and we need a fair distribution of payments across farmers. I would argue that the €60,000 figure should decrease. That is a major issue.

The Commission needs to simplify the system. I am concerned about comments by the European Court of Auditors in recent days regarding more tests.

I am also concerned about off-farm income.The Commissioner knows many farmers in Ireland need off-farm income to survive. Most operators who keep sheep and cows, and particularly younger farmers, need off-farm incomes to keep the roof over their family's head. We will watch that with real concern. I ask the Commissioner to be particularly mindful of the type of farming model we have in Ireland.

There is the idea of the individual governments putting together the type of payments suiting their countries under a European framework. It looks good on first reading but as Senator Daly has said, there can be issues with it as well. The Commissioner knows the challenges we face with farming in Ireland and he has been in the Irish political landscape for a long time. I expect this version of the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, will be fair to our smaller and medium farmers in particular as they are struggling across this State.