West’s farmers are being lined up for CAP ‘hit’ – Ó Cuív

WEST of Ireland farmers could end up taking the ‘big hit’ in the new CAP programme because of the failure of the Agriculture Minister to get a minimum 40% commitment from Ireland built into the Pillar 2 EU agreement, it has been claimed this week.

Fianna Fáil Agriculture Spokesman, Éamon Ó Cuív, said that the failure of Minister Simon Coveney to get the Irish Pillar 2 contribution ‘built into the EU deal had now left ‘the road open’ for Public Expenditure Minister, Brendan Howlin to ‘plunder’ the co-funding budget over the coming years.

Deputy Ó Cuív also said that the main farming organisations had ‘also taken their eye off the ball’ during the key CAP negotiations by not highlighting the omission of the minimum co-funding stipulation in the deal struck with the EU earlier this year.

“I am extremely concerned in the run-up to the announcement on the Pillar 2 co-funding that the cohort of farmers who will end up taking the ‘big financial hit’ in the new CAP will be the smaller, lower income farmers along the Western Seaboard.

“If the co-funding Budget is cut significantly, then it is the schemes like DAS (disadvantaged areas) and REPS/AEOS that will suffer, and the effect will be completely disproportionate on a regional level,” said Deputy Ó Cuív.

He said that right from the start of CAP negotiations, his big fear was that the smaller farmers in the West of Ireland would end up coming out at the wrong end of this deal.

“I said all along that the farming organisations, and especially the West of Ireland representatives, needed to keep their eye very closely on the ball, as to how the CAP funds would be distributed.

“DAS and the environmental schemes are absolutely crucial for farmers in the West of Ireland but if the Irish Government start pulling back on their roughly 50/50 contribution to Pillar 2, then it doesn’t take a genius to work out, who will end up out of pocket over the next seven years,” said Deputy Ó Cuív.

He said that if the EU annual Pillar 2 funding for Ireland was matched by the Irish Government on a 53% (EU)/47% basis, this would result in a yearly injection to the rural economy of close on €600m per annum.

However, if the Government – ‘under the prompting of Minister Brendan Howlin’ – dropped their contribution to the 25% mark, this could end up taking close on €1 billion out of the rural economy between 2014 and 2020.

“With an announcement pending on co-funding – possibly on December 17 next – the time is short for farmers and their representatives to get moving on this. We’ll know then, whether it’s the farmers in the West that are left to carry the can,” said Deputy Ó Cuív.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.