The President of the Irish Farmers' Association warned protestors at Dublin Castle today that the Minister for Agriculture must stand his ground against European Commission proposals on CAP Reform he's calling 'flawed'.
John Bryan's message to Simon Coveney is clear - the introduction of a minimum payment per hectare will take money from the most productive farmers and reward those who produce less.
The IFA says the EU Agriculture Commissioner's proposal was not part of an agreement reached at a meeting of European Agriculture ministers last March.
John Bryan said, “Commissioner Dacian Ciolos wants to introduce a mandatory minimum payment, which would be very disruptive to production and it fails to target monies available for redistribution to active farmers."
Progress
Mr Bryan said the Minister is claiming to have made some progress at yesterday’s meeting, but Irish farmers will judge him on his ability to secure a deal that works for Irish agriculture, which would limit losses in line with what he has told farmers all along.
John Bryan reminded Minister Coveney that he had referred to the outcome of the March meeting as a ‘watershed moment’ in terms of the flexibilities secured for Ireland. “If these flexibilities are lost, then it will be a watershed moment for his credibility. The Minister for Agriculture must stand his ground and insist that the flexibilities agreed at the March meeting, which did not include a minimum payment, are retained in the final deal.”
National Livestock Chairman of the IFA, Henry Byrne, says Minister Simon Coveney must move to protect Irish farmers:
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Pictured above, a farmer taking part in a protest last March
