Coveney warning of ‘civil war’ over flat rate plan

A European Commission plan for flat rate single farm payments in Ireland would spark a civil war, warns Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney.

He has spelled out his own plan to counter the Commission proposal that Ireland switch from historically-based payments to flat rate, area-based payments.

According to Mr Coveney, the flat rate proposal would see the most productive farmers at present losing 60% of their payment on average, while farmers in less productive areas would gain an average of 85%.