Kelly: Package ‘puts trust back in the hands of farmers'
The Ireland South MEP said the proposal is a positive development, and a direct response to the growing frustration among farmers who have 'long struggled with red tape and overly frigid rules'.
MEP Kelly also described the announcement as a 'good day for Irish agriculture' and highlighted several key elements in the package.
He said: 'Simplification, flexibility, less bureaucracy, these are exactly the changes our farmers have been calling for.
'This is not just a minor adjustment, it's a shift in tone that puts trust back in the hands of farmers,' he added.
The MEP has welcomed the increased flat-rate payment for small farmers and greater discretion of member states.
'Raising the flat-rate payment limit to €2,500 is practical and fair. It will ease the burden on small family farms and save time and money. That's common sense policy,' Kelly explained.
MEP Kelly
Kelly was particularly encouraged by the approach taken on Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) 2, which addresses wetland and peatland management.
He said: 'This was a major concern voiced by farmers I've met across Ireland in recent weeks. The flexibility to reward environmental stewardship rather than penalise it is a breakthrough.
'Farmers working on peatlands and wetlands will now be supported, not punished, for their efforts.'
'I believe this progress stems in no small part from the influence of the EPP Group in the parliament. With 188 members, we've ensured that the voice of farmers is heard clearly in Brussels,' he added.
The MEP believes that the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, 'understands agriculture' and has shown he is willing to act.
'This package is the beginning of restoring agriculture to its rightful place at the top of the European agenda,' Kelly said.
'I sincerely hope all Irish MEPs will come together now to support these proposals as they move through parliament.'
'Agriculture is Ireland's primary industry – and it deserves a common effort to ensure farmers have the tools they need to thrive,' he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
8 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
CAP battle starts as EU plans to overhaul farmer payments
The European Commission this week outlined long-anticipated proposals to radically overhaul the system of financial supports for the agricultural sector across the European Union. The top-line changes to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) would see ringfenced funding for farming cut by more than a fifth, with supports for agriculture merged with those for rural areas into a single fund. In brass tax, this would mean a fall in guaranteed CAP funding from €387 billion down to €300 billion over the course of the EU budget cycle from 2028. Around 120,000 Irish farmers receive roughly €2bn annually in CAP payments, and much of this money essentially makes a huge cohort of Irish farms viable. Given this, it was no surprise to see farming organisations here quickly coming out of the blocks to condemn the proposals. The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) warned the move would put food security at risk, while the group representing dairy farmers, the ICMSA, said there would be immediate upward pressure on food prices. A number of Irish MEPs also came out against the plans, which the Commission argues would allow for "stronger synergies between policies", and create a more flexible, crisis-responsive budget. Now the horse-trading really gets going as member states, through the Council of Ministers, start the long process of agreeing on an approach to the proposals, before painstaking talks with the parliament in Brussels and the Commission begin. Ultimately, it could take over two years before any agreement is in place for the start of the next EU budgetary cycle in 2028. Ireland will likely play a key role in this process, as we will hold the rolling six-month EU presidency for the second half of next year. This means that what the EU Commission is proposing and what eventually ends up happening might well be very different. Based on what I've written so far, it might seem the changes suggested are largely negative, but are there any positives in there for farmers across the bloc? Well, from what the Commission has outlined, it wants to make a strong play to encourage more young farmers into the profession. And this is in response to one of the major issues threatening the future of family farms both here in Ireland and across the EU. The average age of a farmer in Ireland is pushing 60, and with high income volatility and increased regulation farming isn't seen as an attractive career path in the way it would have to previous generations. A recent Teagasc report showed farm incomes were up across the board last year, but it also highlighted severe differences in farmer earnings from one year to the next. Paired with that, the level of environmental regulations farmers have to adhere to, and biodiversity and other targets that need to be met is only rising. These are welcome moves to protect our environment but they come at a price, and add layers of complexity to the job. In an attempt to address the challenge of generational renewal, the Commission has recommended that CAP funding "should be focused on active farmers", meaning supports would be "targeted towards farmers who exercise agriculture as a principal activity". This would mean that farmers who are of pension age would no longer receive supports under CAP. In addition, the proposals would hugely increase supports for young farmers starting out, with funding for the costs of establishing a new farm potentially rising from €100,000 to €300,000. The changes would also give individual member states more autonomy when it comes to doling out funds to farmers and rural areas, and can steer money in one direction of the other based on what is deemed more necessary. This could bring a shift in the well-worn path of supports going directly to farmers in less-well-off regions, as opposed to the areas themselves getting the money. So farmers could still benefit from rural EU funding, just not directly. However, the Commission's proposals are just proposals at this stage and will need approval at various stages of the EU decision-making process if they are to become part of the EU budget. The Irish Government hasn't wasted any time in putting domestic structures in place to decide on the country's stance on all this. On Thursday, the day after the EU proposals, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon held the first meeting of what he calls the "CAP Consultation Committee". He called the Commission's CAP recommendations a "starting point", adding "we have been through considerable reforms before and we've managed to negotiate through them in the past and we'll do the same again". The minister's positive take might given some of the stakeholders at that CAP committee some reassurance. Ireland's response to this will be pretty much an all-inclusive one. The stakeholders gathered together by the minister include five Government departments, a host of State agencies, farmer organisations, business groups, as well as academics. IFA President Francie Gorman was giving his reaction to the Commission's CAP proposals on Wednesday's RTÉ Six-One News, in which he summed up the complexities associated with finding the right funding model for farmers. He welcomed the EU's renewed focus on bringing along more young farmers but pointed out: "If you want the next generation of farmers coming home, along with all the measures that we bring in to support young farmers, we still have to have viable farms for them to come into." Essentially, however well-intentioned it is, the idea of giving newer farmers more financial support at the expense of older ones could prove to be a misguided one if it kills off the very farms its trying to protect. Like most budget-related considerations, it will come down to finding a balance. And with the next EU budget not kicking in until 2028, at least there is sufficient time to try and get this balance right. But there's no doubt that between now and 2028, many battles will be fought as competing interests vie for pieces of a potentially smaller pie of EU funding.
Extra.ie
8 minutes ago
- Extra.ie
Michael Flatley for President? The Lord of the Dance isn't ruling it out
Lord Of The Dance star Michael Flatley has revealed that he isn't ruling out a potential Presidential bid. Speaking on RTÉ's Brendan O'Connor Show yesterday, Mr Flatley said he took questions about his intentions to run, 'very seriously'. Lord Of The Dance star Michael Flatley has revealed that he isn't ruling out a potential Presidential bid. Pic: REX/Shutterstock He said: 'It's certainly not something that I've made any decision on, but it does get frustrating when you see the hard-working Irish taxpayer working as hard out and having no say in things. 'If I thought that I could be of benefit to the Irish people and maybe, more importantly, if I thought I could be a voice of the Irish people. 'Right now, I don't think they have a voice, not a true proper deep voice that you know that speaks their language, 'Flatley said. Pic: David Rose/REX/Shutterstock 'Right now, I don't think they have a voice, not a true proper deep voice that you know that speaks their language.' He said he is 'very blessed' to meet the 'average person', adding: 'I meet them all and I hear their concerns. And I'd be lying if I said they're happy right now, and somebody has to speak for the Irish people.' He said he had been 'approached by some very weighted individuals, people in the know,' about a bid.
Extra.ie
38 minutes ago
- Extra.ie
Exclusive: Tony Holohan preparing bid for Presidency
Professor Tony Holohan is preparing to launch a bid to become the next President of Ireland, can exclusively reveal. Sources close to the former chief medical officer told that 'plans are in progress' for him to announce his candidacy. Contacted this weekend, Dr Holohan was coy about a potential run for Áras an Uachtaráin. 'I can neither confirm nor deny if your information is correct or incorrect,' he said in response to reports of his preparing a bid. Pressed further, Dr Holohan said: 'I won't be saying anything at the minute,' adding that he was currently attending meetings in the UN buildings in Brussels. Tony Holohan. Pic: Sasko Lazarov/ Dr Holohan became chief medical officer in 2008 and came to prominence during the pandemic. He stepped down in 2022. A lifelong civil servant, he appears to be acquainting himself with the inner workings of political life, with sources saying he is in 'diplomatic training'. 'If you look at his Instagram he has been posting some images outside the UN with the Irish flag, very strategically, fluttering in the background,' said one source. 'He is laying the groundwork at the minute,' they continued. 'He is familiarising himself with international diplomatic relations in places like the UN parliament and he is also upping his socialmedia game considerably.' Tony Holohan. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos Asked about his presence at the UN and the strategically posed social-media image, Dr Holohan laughed, saying, 'I'm just over here for meetings.' Since stepping down as CMO, he has taken up several other posts, most recently in April last year when he was awarded an adjunct professorship at Trinity College. He also became adjunct professor at UCD in 2022, and in February last year he became director of UCD's Centre for One Health, aimed at advancing research into global health challenges. The news comes two years after he was embroiled in a scandal over a plan to appoint him to Trinity on secondment, at the expense of the taxpayer. In June of this year, Dr Holohan married Ciara Cronin, a mindfulness-based psychotherapist. Tony Holohan and Ciara Cronin on their wedding day. Pic: Mike Mulcaire They began a relationship in 2023 – two-and-a-half years after the death of his first wife, Dr Emer Feely. The couple had been married for more than 20 years, until Emer died of multiple myeloma in 2021. It is not clear who will back him in his bid for the Presidency but he has a cordial relationship with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Fianna Fail has not clarified if it will run a candidate and is to make a decision in the early autumn. As of yet there are only two declared candidates for the election later this year. This week MEP and EU commissioner Mairead McGuinness was announced as Fine Gael's official nominee, after former GAA president Seán Kelly dropped out. She is expected to be ratified by the party in September. Mairead McGuinness. Pic: Isopix/REX/Shutterstock This week she said: 'I'm conscious of the opportunity and challenge ahead, given the very important constitutional role of the President, and the esteem in which the office is held by the people. Subject to my candidacy being ratified by the party in early September, I very much look forward to setting out my vision.' Independent TD Catherine Connolly also announced her bid for the Presidency this week, with the backing of the Social Democrats and People Before Profit. Catherine Connolly. Pic: Sam Boal/Collins Photos The Labour Party is also expected to come on board with its support. Ms Connolly said she does not regret backing conspiracy theorist Gemma O'Doherty's Presidential bid in 2018, saying her 'judgment call was right at the time'. Ms Doherty's campaign was beset by controversy when she suggested the State had colluded in Veronica Guerin's murder. Asked if she regretted the nomination, Ms Connolly said: 'My judgment call was right at the time. Do I regret what's happened in relation to her? Absolutely.' Meanwhile Sinn Féin has still to decide if it will put forward its own nominee or support an umbrella left-wing candidate. Since party leader Mary Lou McDonald refused last week to rule herself out of the contest, speculation about her possible candidacy has grown.
