A local TD has demanded additional CAP funding for farmers.
Speaking during a Dáil debate on the Common Agricultural Policy, Cavan Monaghan Sinn Féin TD, Matt Carthy, said we must recognise that when we talk about our farming community, we are talking about, working class low-paid workers that operate to the highest standards globally. He was responding to criticisms of farmers by Dublin based TD, Ruth Coppinger
In response to the remarks from Deputy Coppinger, the local TD said is was important the Dáil reminds itself that Irish and EU farmers adhere to the highest and strictest animal welfare and environmental water quality standards of any farmers anywhere in the world. In relation to payments, Deputy Carthy said there is nobody who gets paid less per hour than the average Irish farmer.
He says people often forget that the network of farming families across this island provide us with a number of services and, crucially, with the food we eat.
Deputy Carthy says the reality is farmers are getting paid less for the service they provide while at the same time being asked to do much more. "In 1973, the CAP comprised 73% of the European budget. By 2017, it had fallen to just 37%. In the most recent multi-annual budget, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael negotiated a further reduction to 30%. This is an unforgivable act, especially given that Ireland was operating as a net contributor and the CAP was a pivotal programme.
"To make matters worse, the Government tried to play a three-card trick and is still doing so. It is trying to claim that there is more money in CAP than there was previously. When speaking to any farmer, he or she will say that is absolutely not the case.
"Through carbon taxes and other measures, the Government has also been robbing farmers and pretending that some of that money will be reinvested. We have a system where those schemes that are important, are environmentally beneficial and assist farmers in making the transitions required are being rolled back, becoming more difficult and bureaucratic to draw down or, worse still, are unpaid despite commitments to the contrary.
"If we want to address the myriad of issues facing our farming families and all of the other societal challenges we must face, we need a fair CAP. We must also ensure farmers get fair pay for their product and that there is fair play in the overall agri-food system."
