The Government has requested emergency Brexit aid for dairy and beef farmers and cleared some actions for state aid approval with Brussels, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the IFA AGM on Tuesday night.

“We have already alerted the European Commission that we will seek emergency aid in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The purpose of this aid would be to help cope with the impact on Irish trade, particularly for the beef, dairy and fishing sectors,” he said.

Referring to the EU supports made available to Baltic states in the wake of the Russian embargo in recent years, he said a combination of European intervention and storage aid, as well as restructuring grants and other state aids was on the cards.

My first and most important objective is to protect the CAP budget for the period to 2027

“We already have approval for rescue and restructuring for businesses hit by Brexit. Brexit is the great political challenge of our time, and we have to hold our nerve. I cannot offer you the reassurance provided by certainty, but I can reassure you that until things are certain we will keep fighting your corner,” he said.

Earlier that evening, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed said a no-deal Brexit and the application of WTO tariffs would add €1.7bn of costs to Irish exports into the UK market.

The minister called the situation an “existential challenge”.

Minister Creed said that 2019 is the year in which critical decisions will be made about the future of CAP.

“My first and most important objective is to protect the CAP budget for the period to 2027.

"The Taoiseach has indicated that Ireland is prepared to contribute more to the overall EU budget, but only if it is spent on the things that contribute to the advancement of the European ideal.

“We believe that the provision of support to family farms is one of those bedrock ideals.”