A 22% cut to the next CAP budget will affect Ireland and the EU’s ability to produce food, Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture Martin Kenny has said.

At the joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture on Wednesday Kenny said that the CAP was established to provide food security for the EU in 1962 so that we wouldn’t be reliant on importing food from the rest of the world.

"We have seen the steady decline of the CAP budget from 1980 when it was 73% of the total EU budget to the current CAP that is down to 31% of the total EU budget.

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“The proposal for the next CAP post-2027 will see a further cut, and I would be very concerned that this continual erosion of the CAP budget will threaten the ability of Irish and EU farmers to produce food. Food security for the EU is at risk," he said.

Food produced in Ireland and the EU is produced to the highest standards in the world, Kenny stressed.

"We see this week the dangers of importing food from countries outside the EU where there is little or no regulation when it comes to food safety standards with the recall of Brazilian beef that contains growth hormones.

Mercosur

“The EU cannot become dependent on importing food from countries that we have no control or ability to regulate food safety standards as is the case with the Mercosur trade agreement," Kenny said.

It is more important now than ever, Kenny said, to invest in agriculture and food production and that is why "we need the strongest Common Agricultural Policy with a budget that will ensure that the EU’s food security will be protected into the future”.