Ireland backs proposed €60,000 basic payments cap
Ireland is backing the European Commission’s proposed €60,000 maximum for basic payments.
“We are anxious to ensure that it is put in place,” said Agriculture Minister Michael Creed in the Dáil.
Speaking on CAP reform last week, before the EU budget situation became clearer yesterday, the Minister also said Ireland is “absolutely resisting the co-financing of Pillar 1 payments, because that would skew the performance of the Internal Market and the commonality of the agricultural policy.”
“We must resist co-financing at every opportunity, because it could mean that rich member states could put their hands in their pockets and supplement their farmers to the disadvantage of other member states. One of our core objectives is to maintain the commonality of CAP.”
On basic payments, Minister Creed said convergence will have moved over €105 million in the period up to 2020 from those with high average payments to those with low average payments.
“The question is whether we should throw out that system entirely or accelerate the journey towards convergence and bringing the lower payments up and the higher payments down.”
He said a flat-rate system in lieu of the current entitlements regime may further disadvantage many smallholders.
Minister Creed said a fairer model with more equity is needed for allocation of CAP funds, but without having unintended consequences.
He raised the situation of tillage farmers, and said they have, on average, the highest payments made under the single farm payment system. “The payments are a historical legacy or entitlement, and in order to retain them, farmers are obliged year in, year out to pay extraordinary levels for rented land. It is a vicious circle, and we need to find a rational way out of it.
“They are now competing with farmers on the dairy side and those involved in both sectors are paying excessive amounts.
“We hear extraordinary figures quoted for an acre of rented land for tillage or dairy production, which brings into question the issue of sustainability.
“The farmers in question receive among the highest payments, but a lot of it, I use the term advisedly, is frittered away. Because of the paradigm in which they are stuck, they have to take land in order to retain the entitlement.”
