Almost 35,000 farm families would be severely impacted, if €200 million is cut from agri-environmental scheme payments, said IFA vice-president Jer Bergin.

Budgetary constraints have led to a “modest” fall in his department’s spend in 2014, said Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney.

The reality of CAP reform is less money available to farmers, following the EU’s 2014-20 budget cut by heads of state, says ICMSA president John Comer.