Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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227. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will examine a submission on the Common Agricultural Policy ; his views on the logical propositions enclosed in the document; if he will endeavour to secure these proposal in his capacity as Chairman of the EU Minister for Agriculture informal talks regarding CAP reform in the near future in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24598/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have examined the briefing note prepared by the Irish Farmers Association regarding CAP reform and I agree with many, though not all, of the points made.

As President of the European Council of Agriculture Ministers, my current objective is to secure an inter-institutional political agreement with the European Parliament and the Commission by the end of June. Given the range of views at the table, it is clear that the final agreement will involve a number of compromises. I hope to be able to navigate a course through these diverging positions in the coming weeks and settle on a compromise acceptable to all Member States and to the two other institutions at the negotiating table.

I will avail of the opportunity afforded by the informal meeting of Agriculture Ministers in Dublin next week to engage in informal consultations with my Member State colleagues and to ascertain the scope for exploring landing zones with a view to achieving an inter-institutional CAP agreement that is good for Europe and good for Ireland.