Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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462. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the discussions thata he has had to date with the EU Commission as part of the Common Agricultural Policy reform to ensure price stability and a fair return to the farmer from the market for their produce; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29393/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have regular contact and discussions with Commissioner Cioloş concerning reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. I spoke to him by telephone as recently as last week and I will be meeting him later this week. In these negotiations, I have always robustly defended the principles and objectives of the CAP and have made it clear that Ireland’s aim in this reform is to maintain the viability of Irish family farms by, inter alia, providing the stability of decoupled direct payments backed up by the safety-net of market supports.