While he may only have four weeks left in the role as secretary general at the Department of Agriculture, Brendan Gleeson is confident the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will not be the same as proposals recently published.
"Believe it or not, there will be thousands of amendments to the six regulations, which is quite extraordinary," he said.
Speaking on the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) proposals, he said: "They will always be contested. We [Ireland] are now net contributors and the Finns [nodding to the Valio speaker] are worried about other things (defence and security), as are other countries.”
Gleeson said Ireland as a member state is willing to contribute more to the EU coffers if Ireland has a strong CAP.
On the two pillars going into one, he said: “I’m not hung up about it – the question is, the same toolbox there and do member states have the same flexibility – on one hand yes, on the other no.”
Big change
Gleeson said it would be a big change, as the Department is used to the two-pillar approach when it comes to funding schemes.
Gleeson said the EU has been clever about how it has structured the funding debate, pushing it back on the member state.
“They are saying if you think agriculture is important, then you can direct funds where you think is important. We would prefer a bigger ring-fenced amount of money, but that’s still all to play for.”
University College Cork’s Thia Hennessy, speaking on the same panel, said: “CAP is really important for the sector. The collapse of the two pillars can be problematic, but we don’t know what is unencumbered or not yet, and what will go toward eco schemes, etc.
"However, really, the beef and sheep sectors are very dependent on CAP still and there are a lot of part-time farmers, so it looks like a huge change.”
Gleeson and Hennessy were speaking at the ASA conference in Cork on Thursday.
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While he may only have four weeks left in the role as secretary general at the Department of Agriculture, Brendan Gleeson is confident the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will not be the same as proposals recently published.
"Believe it or not, there will be thousands of amendments to the six regulations, which is quite extraordinary," he said.
Speaking on the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) proposals, he said: "They will always be contested. We [Ireland] are now net contributors and the Finns [nodding to the Valio speaker] are worried about other things (defence and security), as are other countries.”
Gleeson said Ireland as a member state is willing to contribute more to the EU coffers if Ireland has a strong CAP.
On the two pillars going into one, he said: “I’m not hung up about it – the question is, the same toolbox there and do member states have the same flexibility – on one hand yes, on the other no.”
Big change
Gleeson said it would be a big change, as the Department is used to the two-pillar approach when it comes to funding schemes.
Gleeson said the EU has been clever about how it has structured the funding debate, pushing it back on the member state.
“They are saying if you think agriculture is important, then you can direct funds where you think is important. We would prefer a bigger ring-fenced amount of money, but that’s still all to play for.”
University College Cork’s Thia Hennessy, speaking on the same panel, said: “CAP is really important for the sector. The collapse of the two pillars can be problematic, but we don’t know what is unencumbered or not yet, and what will go toward eco schemes, etc.
"However, really, the beef and sheep sectors are very dependent on CAP still and there are a lot of part-time farmers, so it looks like a huge change.”
Gleeson and Hennessy were speaking at the ASA conference in Cork on Thursday.
Read more
Push and pull innovations working for Valio, ASA conference hears
‘Every lever being pulled’ to keep derogation – Gleeson
Minister Heydon to seek CAP budget boost in negotiations
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