Macra president condemns EU move
Mr Phelan, who attended a Department of Agriculture briefing last week on the proposals, said that they would be detrimental for young farmers and new entrants to farming.
“The proposal where a young farmer hasn’t been actively farming for the entirety of the commission’s three reference years, will not receive their full entitlements and will be forced to apply to the reserve, is simply ridiculous ” said Phelan.
“To suggest such is outrageous. This flies in the face of logic in that the people they will inhibit most, are the very ones who are hoping to farm in the future,” he added.
Phelan said the establishment of a 1% national reserve would be totally insignificant in accommodating young progressive farmers, because of the private market trading of the entitlements.
“The reserve would not even be sufficient to deal with the anomalies which would be created with the transition to an area-based system and there was little prospect for any ongoing reserve for new entrants which would have to be an essential element of any sustainable support system,” he added.
Mr Phelan reiterated Macra’s outright opposition to the overall mid-term review of the CAP.
