Walsh takes aim at CAP reforms as battle begins
The Irish and French came out most vehemently against the changes proposed by Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler, with Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium and Greece not as strong in their opposition.
IFA President John Dillon said Mr Walsh will need a lot of stamina to fight and win this battle on behalf of Irish farmers.
"He will have to be in Brussels a lot more than he was in the past. This battle will need to be fought on a daily basis," Mr Dillon said.
The French were the only country to completely support the Irish position at yesterday's meeting of agriculture ministers where they discussed the proposals for the first time.
Spain and Greece were more cautious while Portugal accepted modulation a reduction of direct payments and the Italians wanted to end milk quotas.
Irish farming organisations say the reduction in subsidies for beef and dairy farmers will cost hundreds of jobs and export earnings.
Mr Walsh, in condemning the proposals, even criticised the FAPRI report commissioned by his own Department and released last week.
He said it assumed a drop in beef production would lead to an increase in price for farmers, but Mr Walsh said it was more likely the gap would be filled by beef imports from non-EU countries.
He described the reforms as dismantling the system of producing good, safe and wholesome food for Europe put in place after the second world war.
"The emphasis has now shifted to a dole type of payment, a supplementary payment without the need for production," he said.
Decoupling the breaking of the link between subsidies and production will have a greater effect on Irish farmers than on those in other EU countries.
"It will reduce the Irish suckler herd by a third and have a devastating impact, especially on the less-favoured areas where farming is the main source of income, and cost jobs down stream in feed mills and butchers," Mr Walsh said.
Switching money from subsidies to rural development the other major change proposed will affect subsistence farmers since those who receive any more than €5,000 a year in direct payments face losing 12.5% of this money.
"One of the best ways of maintaining vibrancy is to maintain families on the farm and it does not make sense to reduce their income by 12.5%," Mr Walsh said.
ICOS President Dessie Boylan said: "ICOS is very concerned that the proposals for the milk sector will have a more serious impact on Ireland than on other states because of our portfolio of products."
Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowen said there was a danger that concessions to developing countries could affect Irish farmers more than those in other EU countries.
Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Britain are pushing to reduce the €45 billion a year spent on agriculture by the EU. Commissioner Fischler's proposals are a response to this and the demands of the WTO to reduce farming subsidies.
Speaking from Brussels yesterday evening, ICSA president Charlie Reilly said Mr Walsh's opposition to the CAP reforms was very strange and uninformed.
He said he was shocked at Mr Walsh's attitude towards his FAPRI report. "Either the Minister is choosing to ignore the report's findings completely or he is completely out of touch with what Irish cattle and sheep farmers have been calling for over the last number of years," Mr Reilly said.
