Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 58: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the bilateral meetings he has had with other EU Agricultural Ministers in relation to the reform of the common agricultural policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12580/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Since I was appointed Minister on 9 March last, I have had bilateral meetings with my French, Spanish and Danish Ministerial colleagues. I have also had the opportunity to interact with my Ministerial colleagues from the 26 other Member States and the EU Commission at the three EU Council of Agriculture Ministers meetings held in Brussels and Luxemburg since I assumed office.

The meeting with my French counterpart, Bruno Le Maire, was devoted primarily to the reform of the CAP. We shared common ground on the strategic importance of agriculture both in Ireland and France. We agreed to work together to ensure that the reform of the CAP delivers an ambitious policy, adequately funded to reinforce and develop agriculture in the EU. We also agreed on a number of important markers in the CAP negotiations, namely

That the distribution of future direct income support within Member States should allow for the necessary flexibility of member states to take account of the agriculture and regional conditions which apply to that country and

That any future "greening" of the direct income support schemes should be simple to apply both for farmers and Member State administrations and should not entail additional costs for either.

The meeting with my French counterpart also dealt with the Mercosur negotiations and with the potential difficulties they could pose for the EU beef sector. The contribution which extensive EU beef production can make to the global fight against climate change was discussed and it was agreed that both countries would work together to highlight this.

While my meeting with my Spanish counterpart was devoted largely to fisheries matters, we did have the opportunity to exchange views on the broad parameters of the upcoming CAP negotiations.

Last week I met with the Danish Minister Henrik Høegh in Brussels and we discussed CAP and our forthcoming presidencies of the EU. Minister Høegh intends to make good progress with the CAP reform negotiations during the Danish presidency but it may be that negotiations will continue into Ireland's presidency in the first half of 2013.

I will have further opportunities to engage with my EU counterparts particularly at the forthcoming informal EU Council of Agriculture Ministers meeting to be held in Hungary next week, where the theme of the meeting is "How should the CAP contribute to a sustainable animal husbandry sector in Europe". It is also my intention to travel to the UK over the coming weeks and to meet my UK counterpart, Secretary of State Caroline Spellman and her team during that visit.

Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 59: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the proposals he has to consult with the stakeholders in the farming industry here in relation to the negotiations on the reform of the common agricultural policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12589/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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An initial consultation process was launched with stakeholders by my Department in July 2009 to obtain views on what EU agriculture policies would serve Ireland and the EU best in the years to come. The responses received are helping to inform our position in the very important negotiations on the future of the CAP after 2013.

In 2010, a Consultative Committee on the CAP after 2013 was set up by my Department comprising all the major farming and agriculture related representative organisations involved in Social Partnership as well as a number of academics. The Committee met in May and November 2010 and also participated in the Stakeholder event organised by my Department during the visit of Commissioner Ciolos last autumn.

Commissioner Ciolos also launched a public consultation process during 2010 providing an opportunity for all stakeholders and interested parties to give their views on the future of the CAP. In parallel with this process, the Commission requested specific submissions on Rural Development in the context of CAP post 2013. My Department wrote to interested stakeholders in this regard advising them how to participate in both of these consultation processes and encouraging them to do so to ensure that Ireland's voice is heard at every opportunity.

While it is still early days in the negotiations and the detailed legislative proposals will not be available until later this year, my officials and I will continue to consult with farming organisations and stakeholders as the negotiations progress.