The provisional CAP reform agreed on Friday in Brussels is a bad deal for Irish farmers, IFA president Tim Cullinan has said.

Negotiators have signed off on the reforms, which will now have to be ratified by European agriculture ministers, including Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue, and the European Parliament.

“The combined effects of the proposal will decimate a cohort of farmers in Ireland. The Minister must push for further flexibility for farmers here,” Cullinan said.

The reforms will see a greater redistribution of payments among farmers, as well as tying more money to climate and environmental measures.

Funding

With the EU contribution to the CAP budget set, Cullinan put the focus firmly on the Irish Government.

He said the Government needed to “make good” on their commitments for maximum national co-financing and €1.5bn from carbon tax to protect the viability of tens of thousands of farmers.

Cullinan expressed disappointment with the role played by the European Commission in the talks.

“Our [European] Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski has done nothing to protect farmers and food production in these talks. He has been submerged by [European] Commission vice-president Franz Timmermans,” he said.

Green deal

Speaking after the reforms were signed off, Timmermans said the compromise package could have gone further, but it has set CAP on a “different and greener course”.

Cullinan said: “The [European] Commission keep telling us they will do an impact assessment of the green deal and Farm to Fork strategies before any aspects are legislated for. Yet they have been trying to embed them into CAP reform through the back door.”