The Irish Farmers' Association yesterday decided it wanted Irish farmers to have to work for their direct payments rather than get an annual EU payment not linked to production, writes Sean MacConnell, Agriculture Correspondent.
The "decoupling" proposal of Agriculture Commissioner Dr Franz Fischler is the main plank of his dramatic reform of the Common Agricultural Policy which is being fast-tracked through the EU system.
But the IFA's 67-member national council came up with its own proposal, under which farmers here would have to retain a minimum of 50 per cent of their livestock and 80 per cent of their acreage to receive the proposed annual single payment.
Commenting after a lengthy and sometimes stormy meeting, the IFA president, Mr John Dillon, described the IFA's position as "providing a sustainable policy for Irish and European farming going forward.
"Whereas the Fischler proposals would result in the winding down of the CAP with EU payments totally decoupled from production, IFA's policy is that CAP supports must be linked to productive farming.
"Commissioner Fischler's approach of making payments without any link to production is politically unsustainable and would destroy family farming in Europe."
Mr Dillon said only farmers who remained in production should be entitled to direct payments, reflecting the high cost of production in Europe. He said the IFA proposals would eliminate the bureaucracy of the current system and give farmers the freedom to respond to market requirements.
"Our proposals hold out a future for the next generation of farmers as quality European food producers making a real contribution to the Irish economy," he said.
Mr Dillon said the Fischler proposals would break the link between production and direct payments whereas the IFA's policy was that farmers must remain in active food production. This would mean retaining a minimum of 50 per cent of their livestock and farming 80 per cent of their reference acreage in order to receive full payment.
The IFA is also strongly opposed to Mr Fischler's proposal for a 25 per cent price cut in the dairy sector. Mr Dillon said there was no justification to go further than the Agenda 2000 decision for a 15 per cent cut.
He said he was seeking an immediate meeting with the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, before next Monday's crucial EU Farm Council meeting in Brussels.
Earlier yesterday, the only farm organisation here in full support of the Fischler proposals, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association, lobbied members of the Oireachtas in Dublin to support full decoupling.
Its president, Mr John Deegan, said he feared that partial decoupling, which was being demanded by some EU states, would lead to a disastrous and ill-defined compromise which would be an administrative nightmare.
Meanwhile, the influential agriculture committee of the European Parliament yesterday ratified the Fischler proposals, which will go to the Parliament the week after next, for scrutiny.
Leinster MEP Ms Avril Doyle forced through an amendment which would protect early retirement payments for Irish farmers. She said the package, being driven by Germany and Britain, was likely to be adopted by the Commission late next month despite the opposition of Ireland, France, Portugal and the Netherlands.