Heydon committed to 2-pillar CAP but has no ‘crystal ball'
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has reaffirmed his commitment to the traditional two-pillar structure of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), but has said he has no 'crystal ball'.
The minister was speaking at his first appearance as a senior minister in front of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
A range of topics came up, with CAP, and its future post-2027, being one of the main issued raised by TDs and senators on the committee.
The European Commission is understood to be planning a radical overhaul of the EU's long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), in which the funding to member states would be consolidated into a single funding pot, with member states then developing a plan to outline how they would use that funding.
This has sparked concern that the two-pillar structure of CAP, and even a dedicated budget for the entire CAP, could be scrapped in favour of a single member state fund.
The minister was quizzed on this by Roscommon-Galway TD Michael Fitzmaurice, who asked: 'The overall budget in CAP, is it going to be bigger, yes or no? Is Ireland's budget going to be bigger to accommodate it if we're going to be tweaking around on it? Are we going to have Pillar I and Pillar II, is it going to be the same system?'
In answer to Fitzmaurice, the minister said: 'Apologies deputy, I left my crystal ball at home, so I don't have that, and we'd all love to know those answers.
'What I can tell you is we'll know in the middle of July. Around July 16 is when these [plans] are going to be announced, and all I can tell you is we are doing everything in our power.
'I can't be clearer – we want to maintain the [CAP] fund, we want to maintain Pillar I and II, we want a fully funded CAP,' he added.
'Will we get that?… We know all the other demands there are on other sides.'
Fitzmaurice then asked if, in a situation where the CAP in its traditional form was not forthcoming, the government would be prepared to step in and 'prop it up'.
Minister Heydon said: 'We could end up with so many different scenarios here… If what was leaked out in terms of a single fund was to come about…I would make the point that it would be a very bad thing. That would mean renationalisation of our system. It would actually undermine the whole [EU] single market.
'I'm not going to get into predicting what might come of what outcome, because there's so many different outcomes there can be here.
'What I can tell you right now is we are making every effort across government to put our best foot forward to maintain a fully funded cap with the traditional structure that has served our sector so well,' he added.
The minister also noted that, in the second half of 2026, when the CAP budget is likely to be finalised, Ireland will hold the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, one of the legislative bodies of the EU, meaning Minister Heydon, if he is still in office, will be the chairperson of the council of agriculture ministers during that period.
He said: 'The first element of this is actually the MFF. What happens with the overall budget will totally determine what happens with CAP.
'In terms of the role we play in the agriculture council… What we do have is, in the second half of 2026, I'll be the chair of the council of ministers and, as we're working through that, we'll be working on the basis of consensus.
'I'm meeting with every other minister bilaterally to understand their priorities and so they understand our priorities… Hopefully before the end of 2026 under the Irish presidency, I;ll be in a position to get that CAP over the line by means of consensus.
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