Independent Ireland's sole MEP Ciaran Mullooly has said that he supports capping the largest CAP payments, stating to the Irish Farmers Journal that “far too many people in Ireland [are] getting too big of cheques” from the support mechanism.

The midlands-northwest MEP’s views on capping payments and targeting CAP supports to specific sectors or regions were difficult to pinpoint as the mid-July date for publication of the first proposals for the next CAP nears.

Tillage farmers, poultry farmers, small farmers, farmers who could be impacted by Mercosur and those farming in the range of 100ha to 150ha were all listed by Mullooly as categories especially in need of supports.

“Where would we start is the issue. We hear so much in terms of people involved in poultry and grain,” he said when asked on where funding should be targeted in post-2027 CAP.

“Within CAP, I am inclined to focus on what we would traditionally have described as small farmers, but we need a balance.

“I think there are some farmers in my region who have done well from convergence, particularly in the west and hill farmers - and fair play to them. I think there is a balance has to be struck.

Stability

“I went to Crossdoney in Cavan before the election and I met farmers who have literally hundreds of cows – I wouldn’t call them small farmers – but they have family farms with huge borrowings and they are now looking over their shoulder at the nitrates situation. I think farmers like that need stability.”

Mullooly said he “wouldn’t be in favour of putting an actual figure in an Irish context” on capping payments due to differences in land quality and sectoral margins.

“The people under threat are largely farmers with maybe 100 to 150ha max. They are the ones that are going out of business. They have to get supports. If they don’t get their supports from convergence, they have to get their support other ways.”

The MEP stated that European Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen must draw up CAP plans that provide for a "fair salary from the land, whether you are a tiny operator or whether you have 300 cows".

He added that fluctuations in cattle and milk markets leave it that "you can't really say if an Irish farmer has 300ha of land, he is alright. I don’t go that theory. I think you have to work out the makeup of his farm for starters”.