An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the best way to protect the CAP budget is by having a strong environmental and climate action component to it.

Marrying the need to protect the incomes of farmers with environmental and climate action was Ireland’s “best chance to protect the budget for CAP”. The Taoiseach said having two objectives rather than one was the often best way to succeed in budgetary negotiations.

He said more investment would be required in schemes like GLAS in which 60,000 farmers are taking part. Funding should also be provided for diversification and “incentivising farmers financially to move into areas of agriculture that are better in terms of climate change”.

Varadkar said Ireland was building alliances with like-minded countries, such as France and many Mediterranean and central eastern European countries.

CAP funding

He was responding to the issue of CAP funding and reform, which was raised by Deputy Michael Moynihan. He said it would be Ireland’s top priority when it came to negotiating the new seven-year European budget.

He said: “The Government has stated that we are willing to increase our direct contribution to the EU budget, but only if important programmes like CAP, Erasmus+, Horizon 2020 and others are protected.”

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Taoiseach says climate action the best way to protect CAP budget

Farmers will need to be incentivised to move into other areas of agriculture that are better for climate change as part of the next CAP, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.