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Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD, and Ministers of State Senator Pippa Hackett and Martin Heydon TD, have welcomed today’s agreement by the Government to submit Ireland’s draft CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) to the European Commission, by the deadline of 1 January 2022 provided for in EU regulations.
Speaking after the Government meeting earlier today, Minister McConalogue said:
“I am delighted that my Government colleagues have agreed to the submission of the draft CAP Strategic Plan over the coming days. This CAP is a farmer-friendly and fair one which will offer confidence and clarity around our farm payments over the coming years. This will be an important milestone in the development of the Plan, but it will not be the final step. Further detailed engagement will take place with the European Commission in the first half of 2022, and the approval process is likely to last between six and nine months, with the Plan coming into effect on 1st January 2023.”
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is now putting the final technical arrangements in place for the submission of the plan to the European Commission via its dedicated SFC IT system.
The Minister highlighted the hugely important contribution of agri-food stakeholders to the development of the draft Plan, through both the national CAP Stakeholder Consultative Committee and various other consultative channels, including direct engagement with farmers through a series of mart meetings earlier this autumn. He said:
“Engagement from stakeholders, including visiting 27 marts in every county in the country, has been vital in getting the draft CAP Strategic Plan to this point, and in ensuring that we meet the twin objectives of ensuring the continued viability of our productive farmers and maximising the environmental sustainability of the sector. I have engaged and listened intently to stakeholder feedback and I have now responded for example through the expanded range of agricultural practices that can be implemented under the new Eco-scheme, which will ensure access for all farmers, and through the ambition that we have shown in the proposed Pillar II Agri-Environment and Climate Measure. I have also sought to deliver a fair approach to the redistribution of Pillar I payments while complying with the requirements of the CAP reform agreement and the ensuing EU legislation.”
The Minister also acknowledged the input of other Government Departments and agencies, and looked forward to further collaboration over the coming months as the detailed aspects of the Plan’s implementation are worked out. Much remaining work remains to be done in this regard, including in relation to the development of the necessary administrative and IT systems.
Referring to today’s Government Decision, Minister of State Pippa Hackett said:
“Since I took up office in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine I have seen many initiatives being put in place to deliver both for farming and the environment. We’ve had the soil sampling programme, the farm environment study, the Life projects we support, and the All-Ireland pollinator plan. We are also building on our EIP knowledge and experience by incorporating into it new EIPs to help breeding waders and also to target water quality on intensive farms. Together, all the measures, combined with the really strong level of co-operation we have developed with the NPWS, will deliver results – for our farmers, for nature, for biodiversity, and for climate.”
Minister Martin Heydon, TD also commented on the Plan:
“I am really pleased that today’s decision paves the way for the submission of the CAP Strategic Plan to the EU Commission on time. Farmers depend on CAP supports. They need the certainty that their payments will be made on time when the new CAP becomes operational in 2023. There is still a lot of work to do, but submitting the plan to the Commission on time is the best possible way to secure farm payments in 2023 and beyond, so the decision made by Government today is an important milestone”.
Concluding, Minister McConalogue said:
“I believe the work to date has resulted in a draft CAP Strategic Plan that will help to achieve our ambitious environmental goals, while also delivering income security for family farms for the period 2023-2027. The budget commitment of almost €10 billion, and in particular the massive increase in National co-funding. is also a real demonstration of the commitment of this Government to farmers and to the wider rural economy. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the draft Plan provides a solid foundation on which to build.”