EU Parliament passes first cut in CAP budget

The complex package of reforms to the Common Agriculture Policy has been passed by the European Parliament and will guide how Ireland’s €11bn in payments will be spent over the next seven years.

The sum going to farmers has been reduced for the first time, leading MEP Jim Higgins to call on the Government to ensure it is distributed in the most efficient way possible.

He warned that some estimates suggested that implementing the complex range of measures could cost 5% of the total, or €75m a year. “This is money which is supposed to be used to support farmers”, he said.