Walsh rejects ‘no plan’ claim
Mr Walsh suggested that Mr Bruton, who made the claim in comments published in the Irish Examiner last Thursday, should look again.
Mr Walsh said that more than a year ago he initiated a State-funded study on competitiveness in Irish agriculture which was recently published. It was one of a series of studies that will inform policy formation.
Today, he will release an important independent study on the economic effects of the European Commission's decoupling proposals.
This is analytical work set in train in August 2001 a year before Commissioner Fischler's detailed Mid Term Review proposals were released.
Mr Walsh said he has always been aware of the need for the long-term policy approach to Irish agriculture.
In June 1999, he established the Agri Food 2010 Committee, an independent group, to devise a long-term strategy for both agriculture and the food industry in Ireland.
Following the committee's report, he published the Agri Food 2010 Plan of Action setting out the Government's response on 200 measures which had been identified.
An implementation report published in December 2001 showed that 94% of the action points were either complete or had seen substantial action taken.
"Depending on developments at EU and WTO level we will review policy further," he said.
Mr Walsh said the up-coming negotiations on agriculture are a high priority for the Government and no effort will be spared in protecting the interests of the farming sector.
Agriculture is an industry with that by its nature has peaks and troughs. This is a fact worth remembering even when focusing on relatively short-term changes in income figures as happened last year.
"The support regime of the CAP has contributed significantly in the last 30 years in protecting Irish farmers from the most severe fluctuations in supply and prices even though it is inevitable that some years are better for farming than others," Mr Walsh said.
Mr Walsh said he was not questioning the fact that 2002 was a difficult year for farmers but a return to the subsistence "boom/bust" days of pre-CAP Irish farming is not an attractive option.
"Where would Irish farmers have been without the direct supports provided under the CAP," he said.
