Proposed CAP payments cut for pensioners 'unacceptable' - SF
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture and Food, Martin Kenny has said there should be no cuts to Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments for pensioners or part-time farmers.
As part of the commission's plan for the EU's next long-term budget, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), it proposes to end farm support payments for farmers once they reach pension age.
The commission is also seeking to direct money under the next CAP towards "those who are actively producing" and that agriculture should be the principal activity of the farmer.
CAP
Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny said there is "huge concern" that farmers who are in receipt of a pension or have an off-farm income could have their basic payment cut in the next CAP.
Speaking in the Dáil, Deputy Kenny urged Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon to oppose the proposed cuts.
"For many of these situations regarding off-farm income, whether a pension or whatever else, there needs to be a recognition that the vast majority of farmers need an off-farm income to make the farm viable. That is the reality of it.
"To suggest they would somehow be punished would mean they are punishing agriculture.
"They are doing the direct opposite of what the CAP is supposed to be about - enhancing the possibility of agriculture being prosperous, doing well and having a future," he said.
Minister Heydon acknowledged that the proposal to exclude farmers in receipt of a pension from direct payments by 2032 has "caused significant worry and concern among older farmers".
He noted that the European Parliament and EU Council have yet to finalise their position on the commission's CAP proposals.
"My focus in negotiations will be to ensure that Ireland retains sufficient flexibility to design a CAP programme that reflects the realities of Irish farming and supports family farms," he said.
"The commission has proposed this measure around retirement. I have a different view and am building alliances with the other ministers for agriculture that have a different view as well.
"It is the same with part-time farming. The approach to the active farmer proposed by the commission is not one I agree with," the minister added.
Generational renewal
Deputy Kenny also said a strategy needs to be developed around generational renewal which "recognises that the older farmer is part of the farm".
"The previous situations where farmers felt they had an exclusion order and could not go near the place any more if they went into any of these schemes is totally inappropriate," he said.
Minister Heydon agreed that any approach to generational renewal should have "fairness and a balanced distribution of supports across the board".
"We want to learn from the mistakes of the past. The old retirement scheme was a mistake.
"It banished older experienced farmers from farms completely and replaced them with newer farmers. There needs to be a partnership approach," he said.
The minister also noted that around 43% of farmers in Ireland are classified as part time.
"Part-time farmers are central to the structure and sustainability of Irish agriculture. No final decisions have been made on the future definition of 'farmer' in the next CAP.
"We need to make sure that our approach involves fairness and balance and that any future model is workable in practice and will not disproportionately impact productive farms or undermine food production capacity and farm viability," he said.
