Proposed 20% CAP cuts and fund merger a betrayal of Irish farming - Mayo TD

Aontú Mayo TD Paul Lawless has sharply criticised the proposed changes to the EU’s CAP budget, warning that it represents a serious threat to the future of Irish farming and rural communities.

“CAP has been the bedrock of the Irish agriculture since its introduction. It was designed to ensure a secure, affordable food supply across Europe while sustaining farm incomes.

“Today, Irish farmers receive around €2 billion annually under the scheme, with more than 120,000 farmers depending on these payments,” he said.

“The EU Commission has unveiled proposals that would merge CAP with cohesion, migration and infrastructure funding, ending its status as a standalone, ringfenced fund. The plan would also result in a 22% cut to guaranteed agricultural funding and would exclude farmers of pension age from receiving CAP payments.”

The Commission claims the merged fund would allow for ‘a more flexible, crisis responsive budget’ but Deputy Lawless said that this comes at the expense of hard-working Irish family farmers.

He commented: “These changes are not just technical tweaks, they fundamentally shift CAP away from its original purpose. By merging farm supports with other policy areas, there is a very real risk that funding will be siphoned away from agriculture and into unrelated sectors.

“This is spin, plain and simple. What it really means is that farm payments are being deprioritised in favour of vague ‘shared EU priorities’. Irish agriculture is being asked to carry the can again. The reality is, Europe is undertaking its largest rearmament since the Cold War - pouring billions into tanks, missiles and jets. The importance of food security is as critical today as ever.”

Deputy Lawless affirmed his support for farmers and a commitment from Aontú to oppose any dilution of the CAP budget.

“We in Aontú stand on the side of Irish farmers. There is a real threat here that any cut to payments will lead to further food price inflation. We need to oppose any effort to dilute CAP, marginalise older farmers, or treat agriculture as superfluous.

“We need a strong, standalone CAP that supports the people who put food on our table.”