Danny Healy-Rae warns CAP is paying farmers not to produce
Danny Healy-Rae criticised CAP and the CMO regulation, arguing EU CAP funding is being diverted to environmental schemes that pay farmers not to produce and should come from a separate fund. He questioned changes to producer organisations funding, the transfer of the EU school scheme into national plans, and raised urgent market concerns including a reported 42% fall in milk prices.
The speaker said the CMO regulation is intended as a safety net for agricultural markets, providing market support tools such as intervention, APS, exceptional measures in times of crisis, a European crisis reporting mechanism, producer organisations and labelling. He expressed strong concern that CAP money is being used for environmental schemes that are not directly about producing food and argued those schemes should be funded from a separate environmental fund.
He highlighted confusion over funding for producer organisations, noting they were previously funded 100% and that the proposal introduces a new 30% national mandatory contribution. He asked whether the remaining 70% would still be covered by EU co-financing under Ireland's national plan and sought clarity on which envelope would meet these costs.
Danny Healy-Rae discussed the EU school scheme, which is changing from ring-fenced CAP funding into the national plan where it will be co-financed by the EU and the exchequer. He noted the scheme becomes mandatory when switching over in 2028 and warned this transfer creates negotiation and budgetary uncertainty about where the money will be drawn from.
He raised alarm about headlines reporting a 42% reduction in milk prices and a sudden drop in demand for meat, asking who will assist affected milk and meat producers. He described how farmers were receiving good returns until mid-year and then faced a rapid loss of market, questioning who is marketing their produce.
The speaker relayed that the Minister for Finance has said the relevant envelope is empty, fuelling concerns that schemes will be bogged down by red tape and may not be deliverable in five or six years. He reiterated that if Europe wants environmental payments, it should create a separate fund rather than using CAP money intended to support food production and market development.
CMO regulation and CAP funding
The speaker said the CMO regulation is intended as a safety net for agricultural markets, providing market support tools such as intervention, APS, exceptional measures in times of crisis, a European crisis reporting mechanism, producer organisations and labelling. He expressed strong concern that CAP money is being used for environmental schemes that are not directly about producing food and argued those schemes should be funded from a separate environmental fund.
Producer organisations and the 30% contribution
He highlighted confusion over funding for producer organisations, noting they were previously funded 100% and that the proposal introduces a new 30% national mandatory contribution. He asked whether the remaining 70% would still be covered by EU co-financing under Ireland's national plan and sought clarity on which envelope would meet these costs.
EU school scheme moved into national plan
Danny Healy-Rae discussed the EU school scheme, which is changing from ring-fenced CAP funding into the national plan where it will be co-financed by the EU and the exchequer. He noted the scheme becomes mandatory when switching over in 2028 and warned this transfer creates negotiation and budgetary uncertainty about where the money will be drawn from.
Market concerns for dairy and meat producers
He raised alarm about headlines reporting a 42% reduction in milk prices and a sudden drop in demand for meat, asking who will assist affected milk and meat producers. He described how farmers were receiving good returns until mid-year and then faced a rapid loss of market, questioning who is marketing their produce.
Budget envelope and red tape worries
The speaker relayed that the Minister for Finance has said the relevant envelope is empty, fuelling concerns that schemes will be bogged down by red tape and may not be deliverable in five or six years. He reiterated that if Europe wants environmental payments, it should create a separate fund rather than using CAP money intended to support food production and market development.
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Transcript
Chairman, I want to welcome the witnesses here and thank you very much for coming. I suppose the first thing I need to say, the more days we sit here inside, the more I realise that CAP is not really 100% to help farmers produce food, which is very important, food security, and this has been compromised with Europe using some of the CAP funding, I don't really know how much of it yet, for schemes, environmental schemes. When we joined the EU, it was to help us to market and produce our food and to find a market for our milk and dairy and beef and grain and all that, but now they're conflicting the whole thing by paying farmers for not producing food. We look to those that are getting it and know about that, but it should come out of a different fund. It shouldn't come out of the CAP fund. It should come, if Europe wants that and it wants to give that kind of, operate those kind of schemes, it should come out of a totally different fund than the CAP fund that was there from the beginning to set up, to set up, give us help to market and to give us help to better ourselves as producers and what are we to say about that? So just the CMO regulation that we're talking about today and the amendments are in it, it's not about the single payment or various schemes that are set up under CAP. What it does is it provides a safety net for agricultural markets, it has market support tools like intervention, APS, it provides for exceptional measures in times of crisis, it provides for European crisis reporting mechanism, it provides for producer organisations and labelling and elements like that, rather than having schemes that directly provide finances to farmers. But you will agree with me that Europe wants these schemes, but they are not connected with producing food and as such shouldn't be paid out of the CAP fund, that's the gripe that I have. There should be, there should be, if this is environmental, in fact we shouldn't be discussing environmental schemes here in Cyprus where we're supposed to be talking about ways and means to help farmers. So that's what I want to make clear, let Europe provide another fund, an environmental fund, if that's what they want them to do, and to give out these smaller schemes that take an awful lot of red tape and writing and following through and we don't know, after going into an awful lot of trouble, will these fellows be able to draw down those schemes after the next five or six years? So I see something there and I can't see it again, where you were saying that you were funding the producer groups to 100% up until now, and now you're asking the national government to pay for it up to 30%, does that mean the CAP is going to pay the remaining 70%? So as the producer organisations currently stand, if they're doing operational programmes under the CSP, and there is a provision in Ireland's CSP for certain producer organisations in certain sectors to have operational programmes, this would have been funded 100% previously and the proposal introduced a new 30% national mandatory contribution. So will the 70% come in as well from where it came up until now? It will be under Ireland's national plan. So that's 100%. Europe will pay nothing now? Under the national plan, the same as the current CAP strategic plan, it's co-financed, so there's exchequer funding going in there as well as EU funding. But who's paying the 30% or who's asked to pay the 30%? The exchequer, yes. So the national exchequer are supposed to pay the 100% now as opposed to CAP? No, 30% is the proposal in the CMO regulations. Correct. And who will pay the 70%? The 70% will be EU, it will be co-funded within the national plan. It will be from the EU? Mm-hm. All right. That's the question. I don't know the way it was written, and I can't even find it, but it was confusing anyway. But in relation to the school mid scheme, the EU school scheme, so they are withdrawing from that? It's a change in the way that it's funded. Currently it's funded under the CAP, but it's not part of our CAP strategic plan. So now the proposal is it moves from separate ring-fenced funding into your national plan, which is co-financed by the EU and the exchequer. So could I ask just a small question? Where are them two funds going to go if they are going to come to the producer groups or to the schools? Where are they going with that money, or where is someone going with it? Erm, so... We're confused. I'm not sure. They're not going to spend it, they're going to leave it in the bank. No, no, I think... Some other for now having got them? No, I think what actually has happened is, there's a contradiction here actually is to do with the fact that the scheme is now mandatory. It wasn't mandatory previously, right? But when we switch over in 2028, we have to have a scheme. So we have to have a scheme. So as a result of that, it's just coming from a different envelope. And we have to negotiate within that envelope, with the EU funds, where the money is coming from. And on top of that, then we have to put in our own supplement 30%. But nothing really changes unless a policy decision is made to change. But as far as we're concerned, it's just switching from one envelope to another. And for those that have chartered the other envelope, the Minister for Finance says the envelope is empty. And that's the trouble that we have. And I don't have much time left, but milk... We read the headlines yesterday, the price of milk is going to reduce by 42%. Is anyone going to help the likes of my neighbour here beside me, or the other milk producers? What are they supposed to do if milk is going to go down by 42%? Who's marketing this? Or who's... What's after happening all of a sudden? Fellas were getting the top, getting very satisfied up until around July or August, the way they were working. And all of a sudden, there's no market for the meat. I'll give you a question for Tom, but very briefly to answer, please. Yes, so within the meat and milk policy division, we monitor prices and production and various other elements throughout the year. So we're aware of the current fall in milk prices. We're aware of Chagas' outlooks for next year. And we advise the minister accordingly as it goes along. So he'll be keeping a close eye on developments across all the sectors. And for the record, Kahi, look. Don't know where everyone has cleaned out with TB. And we're told that the farmers are going to be helped. Surely one of the ways, and this is what we're hearing, one of the ways won't be that when the fellow gets clear that he can only sell his beef or his cow or whatever to the factory and no longer go to a map with him for two or three years after getting cleared. Surely that won't be one of the ways to get rid of TB. Surely. 寒い pour析 能力 寒い 寒い 寒い 寒い 寒い 寒い 寒い