EU Meetings
Dail Éireann — 2025-10-14
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Martin Kenny (SF), Sligo-Leitrim

We are all very conscious of the proposal on the table whereby we face a 22% cut in respect of the CAP. That will have a very serious effect on Irish agriculture in addition to the entire food sector and farm families. The vast majority of our food is produced by small farm families the length and breadth of the country who depend on their CAP payments to remain sustainable. We have had decent prices recently, in fairness. This is attributable to supply and demand and the fluctuations in the market, but for years, many farmers would say it was the other way around in that they were producing food and not getting a good price for it. They had to struggle. I have always said that the best way farmers can make money is to have a decent price for their produce. At the moment, they are getting a decent price but it is very much at the whim of the market. They need to ensure there is a base in place. The removal of the two pillars is very dangerous. Many farm organisations and farmers are very concerned that it could mean that much of the money ring-fenced in the past for agriculture could be raided for other purposes. That is what we need to ensure does not happen.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-10-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:04+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-10-14