'Disaster' CAP risks Irish farmers facing a shortfall of at least €2.3bn - ICSA
The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) rural development chair, Edmond Phelan has said the proposed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget for 2028-2034 would be a "disaster" for Irish farmers, leaving them facing a shortfall of at least €2.3bn compared to the current programme.
He said: “Farmers are being asked to deliver on climate change, biodiversity, food security, animal welfare, and generational renewal - all of which require more support, not less.
"To pretend this can be done with a reduced CAP budget is dishonest and reckless. It will also undermine the very objectives the commission claims to champion.
“The European Commission is trying to dress up cuts and re-nationalisation as ‘flexibility’, but in reality it means less money, less stability, and more political buck-passing.
"Irish farmers need more money, not less, to meet the growing list of demands on them.”
According to the ICSA, the €2.3bn shortfall stems from the commission’s draft proposal to merge CAP into a new Regional and National Partnership Plan (RNPP) under the EU’s next long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
Phelan stressed that Ireland is set to lose out under the proposed distribution of funds, while countries such as The Netherlands and Belgium gain.
He said: "This is grossly unfair. Ireland is firmly on the side of the losers in this allocation process, and that cannot be allowed to stand.
"In addition, merging CAP into the RNPP will pitch agriculture against other policy areas, particularly defence and security.
"But defence and security must be paid for by everyone - not taken out of farmers’ pockets. EU policies are already having the effect of cutting food production in Europe, whether intended or not.
"This is a very dangerous path to follow. With growing geopolitical tensions, food security is more vital than ever before.
"Calling this ‘flexibility’ is wholly misleading - it is the dilution of CAP and a direct threat to the stability and predictability that farmers need.”
The ICSA is calling on the Irish government to:
- Reject the commission’s proposal to cut CAP funding by 20%;
- Demand a ringfenced CAP budget that reflects inflation and rising costs;
- Guarantee substantial national co-funding so that Irish farmers are not left with a €2.3bn hole in their income supports.
“The Irish government must stand firm in Brussels and secure the necessary funding to protect the future of our family farms.
"Without fair funding, thousands of family farms will not survive,” Phelan added.
