MEP calls on ministers to back increase in small farmer payment
An MEP for Ireland Midlands-North West has called for member states in the Council of the EU to back a proposal to increase the amount of payment available to small farmers.
Under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), small farmers can avail of an annual lump sum payment in lieu of joining farm schemes which may not be appropriate for very small holdings.
Up to this year, the lump sum was limited to €1,250 per holding.
In a drive to "simplify" the CAP and reduce the administrative burden on farmers, the European Commission proposed earlier in the year to increase that limit by doubling it to €2,500.
After the simplification proposals went to the European Parliament to be debated by MEPs, an amendment saw the proposed lump sum payment doubled again to €5,000.
With negotiations now underway between the parliament and the Council of the EU (council of ministers) on the final shape of the simplification package, MEP Ciaran Mullooly called on the council to back the proposed increase in the payment limit.
He said that failure to secure a political agreement "could have serious implications" for the 20,000 small-scale farmers in Ireland who could benefit from the proposal.
Mullooly said he will be in Strasbourg this week "working with fellow MEPs to build agreement on this important scheme which would provide a significant boost to small family farms across Ireland".
"This is a real and immediate opportunity to support our smallest farmers. If we can secure agreement, thousands of family farms...could instead receive €5,000 under the the existing CAP budget," he said.
"But time is not on our side. The current CAP framework ends in 2028."
The Independent Ireland MEP called on Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon to work closely with his counterparts in the council to "ensure this measure is approved without delay".
"This proposal is about fairness and simplification, giving smaller farmers the support they need without adding new layers of bureaucracy," he said.
"We need political agreement now to make sure Ireland's small farmers don't miss out," Mullooly added.
