Bid to increase Irish submissions to CAP debate after initial poor response

A LATE push is being made to encourage more Irish submissions to the European Commission debate on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy.

The public debate which Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Dacian Ciolos launched on April 12 will remain open until Thursday.

But the number of responses from Ireland up to the end of last week was a mere 15 out of a total of 2,300 from across the European Union.

Martin Territt, director, European Representation in Ireland, urged all interests in the agri-food and other sectors to respond without delay to the Commission’s request for input on the future of the CAP.

In a letter to deputy Johnny Brady, chairman, Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, he said that to date the submissions from Ireland have been disappointingly low.

Mr Territt said the Commission is keen to gauge the opinion of stakeholders and the public on the need for the CAP and what is it expected from it.

“Last month Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith welcomed the consultation process that the Commission has launched and urged all interested parties in Ireland to make an input to it.

“We all agree it is vital that Ireland’s voice is heard strongly in this process given that agriculture is a key national concern for the economy and of crucial relevance for farmers, consumers, rural communities and the environment,” he said.

Fianna Fáil members of the European Parliament have also strongly encouraged all stakeholders in both agriculture and the food sector to contribute to the consultation process in advance of next week’s deadline. Liam Aylward, Pat the Cope Gallagher and Brian Crowley submitted a response to the questions put forward by Mr Ciolos on the CAP’s future. Mr Aylward said it is vital the EU maintains a well-resourced agriculture policy with a strong budget that will deliver for active farmers, rural communities and Irish society.

According to Mr Crowley, the new policy should be structured so as to support innovation, agri-entrepreneurship and agri-business and to enable the potential of European agriculture to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Mr Gallagher said with the total annual EU and national payments to farmers amounting to €2.6 billion, the importance of the CAP in supporting farm incomes and job creation in rural Ireland is considerable.