The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and the group representing co-ops held a protest in Dublin on Tuesday, warning against a plan to to remove the Common Agricultural Policy (Cap) budget in favour of a once-off funding approach to the EU budget.
Farmers and farming representatives took part in the “flash action” at the European Commission offices on Tuesday morning.
The IFA and Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) protest coincides with a flash action organised by Copa Cogeca, the largest representative union of more than 22 million European farmers in Brussels.
The protests come as the EU Commission has put forward proposals to amalgamate Cap into a single fund.
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The move has sparked concern in the agricultural sector, which warns that their funding could be stripped back over the years as it will not be ring-fenced.
“The Cap budget has been in place since the Treaty of Rome, way back in the 1950s, and it was put in place to make sure that we would have food security across Europe, which was paramount and is still paramount today,” Alice Doyle, deputy president of the IFA, said.
“If that budget is subsumed into the main European budget, it can be pilfered at any time, to be used for any purpose.
“We want this ring-fenced, as it has always been from the very beginning, ring-fenced to support farmers across Europe and here in Ireland in particular.”
She added: “If it is not ring-fenced, the income of farmers would be reduced dramatically, because we all depend on that direct payment coming from Europe. That’s part of our basic income scheme.”
Ms Doyle also raised concern about the knock-on impact for rural Ireland because farmers are based there and “every penny they earn is spent in rural Ireland”.
Edward Carr, a diary farmer from Tipperary, president of the ICOS and chairman of Arrabawn Co-operative, said the Cap budget is being targeted.
“The proposed changes are very concerning for the future of farmers within our country,” Mr Carr said.
“It’s concerning because the Cap was brought in few years ago for us as a protection that we produce cheap food.
“It has to be taken into consideration that we are probably one of the best countries on the globe to produce sustainable food in a sustainable manner, while protecting the environment.
“I think it’s just come to the stage where farmers have to stand up for themselves and protect themselves. The future of this cheap, sustainable food being produced has to be protected. It’s time for Europe to pay more heed to this.” – PA
