The proposed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget for 2028 to 2034 would be a disaster for Irish farmers, leaving them facing a shortfall of at least €2.3bn compared to the current programme, Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) rural development chair Edmond Phelan has said.

The shortfall stems from the European Commission’s draft proposal to merge CAP into a new Regional and National Partnership Plan (RNPP) under the EU’s next long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).

“Farmers are being asked to deliver on climate change, biodiversity, food security, animal welfare and generational renewal - all of which require more support, not less.

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"To pretend this can be done with a reduced CAP budget is dishonest and reckless. It will also undermine the very objectives the Commission claims to champion,” he said.

Flexibility

The European Commission, he said, is trying to dress up cuts and renationalisation as flexibility, but in reality it means less money, less stability, and more political buck-passing. Irish farmers need more money, not less, to meet the growing list of demands on them.

“Ireland is set to lose out under the proposed distribution of funds, while countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium gain," he said.

This, Phelan added, is grossly unfair and Ireland is firmly on the side of the losers in this allocation process.

"In addition, merging CAP into the RNPP will pitch agriculture against other policy areas, particularly defence and security. But defence and security must be paid for by everyone - not taken out of farmers’ pockets.

"EU policies are already having the effect of cutting food production in Europe, whether intended or not. This is a very dangerous path to follow. With growing geopolitical tensions, food security is more vital than ever before. Calling this ‘flexibility’ is wholly misleading - it is the dilution of CAP and a direct threat to the stability and predictability that farmers need," Phelan said.

Demands

The ICSA is calling on the Irish Government to reject the Commission’s proposal to cut CAP funding by 20% and demand a ringfenced CAP budget that reflects inflation and rising costs.

Concluding, Phelan said: “The Irish Government must stand firm in Brussels and secure the necessary funding to protect the future of our family farms. Without fair funding, thousands of family farms will not survive.”