Smith rejects claims CAP debate not getting deserved attention

A SUGGESTION by Ireland South MEP Alan Kelly that the debate on the Common Agricultural Policy was not getting the attention it deserved has been rejected by Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister Brendan Smith.

Mr Kelly told a conference which he hosted in the Tipperary Institute, Thurles, last Friday, that the CAP silence here is deafening.

“The debate is already well under way in Europe so we need to start talking ourselves,” he told delegates.

Mr Smith responded in a statement that Mr Kelly might not be fully aware of the process of consultation and debate that has been in train for some considerable time.

However, he welcomed the Labour man’s input to the debate and said he was glad to say that many MEPs have been fully and actively engaged with this issue for some time.

Mr Smith said MEPs will have a key role to play in the negotiation process following the enhancement of the European Parliament’s role in the Lisbon Treaty. His officials had already undertaken a number of briefing sessions for Irish MEPs on this important subject and he was pleased these had been well attended.

Mr Smith said he launched an extensive consultation process with a wide range of Irish stakeholders last July

“My aim was to get their views on what EU agriculture policies they believe will serve Ireland and the EU best in the years to come.

“I was very pleased with the volume and quality of the responses received and they are being used to inform our position in the ongoing negotiations,” he said.

Mr Smith said concrete proposals for the new CAP will not be put on the table by the commission until the middle of next year.

“However I have been fully engaged with my counterparts in other member states and the commission to put forward Ireland’s view at every opportunity in this very important informal phase of negotiations when the direction of future policy will in effect be decided,” he said.

Mr Smith welcomed the fact that the EU heads of Government have underlined the importance of the CAP to the future of Europe.

“I am aware that the Taoiseach played a leading role in ensuring that the heads of Government recognised that a sustainable productive and competitive agricultural sector will make an important contribution to the new EU2020 strategy for the development of Europe’s economy,” he said.