Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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67. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the Government has formally submitted an application to the European Commission for EU state aid to help the agricultural sector and farmers following Brexit related currency changes; and if an application has been made for CAP funding under market disturbance provisions following the UK referendum to leave the EU. [41682/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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It is important to clarify from the outset that State Aid is aid funded by Member State, not by the European Commission.  Such aid is subject to common EU rules designed to avoid distortion of competition within the European Union.

It is already possible to provide aid for farmers subject to a cumulative maximum limit of €15,000 per farmer over three years. Such aid is called de minimis aid, and is designed to permit member states to provide assistance to primary producers at a level which does not distort competition across the Union.  Ireland already provides such aid to farmers under a number of headings, in addition to the aid it provides under its Rural Development Programme, which is subject to a separate legal basis to that of State Aid.

In addition, the Common Market Organisation Regulation of the CAP provides for a number of market support mechanisms, for example intervention, when beef falls to threshold levels which are well below current market prices, or for butter and Skimmed Milk Powder between the months of March and September. More flexible measures against market disturbance can be made available when the conditions warrant it. These are not measures that will be deployed regularly, and in practice their deployment is very exceptional and requires the support of Member States.   

Regarding CAP market disturbance funding, emergency measures were introduced by the Commission in accordance with Articles 219 and 220 of 1308/2013 in recent years in direct response to the market difficulties being experienced by farmers and producers during this time.  Such measures included exceptional adjustment aid to milk producers and farmers in other livestock sectors, with €350 million in emergency funding allocated to Member States.  Ireland's allocation of €11.1 million from this fund (topped up by 100% national funding) was used to leverage a greater fund of €150 million to provide low-cost loans to the livestock and tillage sectors.

At present in Ireland, dairy prices are strong, year to date average pigmeat and sheepmeat prices are  close to the EU average, and while beef prices  dropped back significantly since they peaked in June, they appear to have stabilised and are currently running at 97% of EU 15 average prices.  

Nonetheless Brexit poses a very significant risk, and its impact is already being felt in some sectors through the prism of currency fluctuations. Sterling values dropped considerably in recent weeks, but have rallied somewhat, since reaching a trough of 92p per Euro.

I am concerned about the potential impact of sterling volatility and Brexit more generally on the Irish agri food sectors. It is clearly a significant risk, and I have been in regular contact with the Commission and with counterparts in other Member States to sensitise them to the threat posed by Brexit, including the more immediate risk associated with currency volatility, and to indicate that there may be a need for a Community response at the appropriate time. I intend to raise these matters again at the Council of Ministers this month.