Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has said he is still hoping to get a higher budget for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), despite the funding gap in the latest proposals.

The minister made the comments at the AgRenew Ireland Summit on generational renewal this morning (Thursday, November 5) in Naas, which was organised by the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) and the Golden Jubilee Trust.

Last month, agriculture ministers from EU member states adopted a provisional position on the next CAP for 2028 to 2034.

The member states agreed to retain some of most controversial aspects of European Commission's original proposals, including a cut in the overall budget for CAP of some 24% compared to the current CAP.

The potential cut has been roundly criticised by farm organisations, as well as the Irish government.

Minister Heydon chaired that meeting of EU agriculture ministers, as Ireland currently holds the presidency of the Council of the EU.

Despite being centrally involved in developing the council's partial opinion, Minister Heydon again said that the current funding level on the table is too low, and that he is still aiming for a higher budget for the future policy.

Speaking to Agriland at today's event, the minister said: "What we agreed in Luxembourg in recent weeks has been what's called a partial general approach of the CAP regulation, and that was me bringing the other 26 ministers for agriculture from each of the member states together into an agreed position.

"It wasn’t simple, it was about compromise, it was about getting the different views of member states and landing on a council position, that we can now go into negotiations with the commission and the [European Parliament] when they finalise their position...that will finally agree what the Common Agricultural Policy will look like," Minister Heydon added.

"In tandem with that is the budget negotiations, the broader [Multiannual Financial Framework], the seven-year budget for the overall EU, and the role of CAP in that; really now a key focus is to close that gap," he said.

According to the minister, agreeing a provisional framework on the new CAP before the amount of funding in the EU budget is agreed was an important part of the process.

He said: "As chair of the [council of agriculture ministers], I represent the views of that council and we all agree we need an adequately-funded Common Agricultural Policy, that’s been the view of Ireland from when I started in this role 20 months ago and I continue to advocate for that, and that's [what] we’ll work on...but that CAP regulation...in tandem with the budget negotiations is really important progress.

Minster Heydon added: "I’m definitely hoping we make progress on our current position, which at a 24% cut, we all know how devastating that would be for the sector, so it is something we are working on across government and across Europe, that we recognise the importance of the Common Agricultural Policy which has served Europe so well since the 1960s."