Doubts loom on whether CAP will have stand alone budget

Heydon confirms EU considering major changes to CAP structure

IFA President Francie Gorman has stressed how retaining a dedicated CAP budget in the EU’s next Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) has to be priority number one for Commissioner Hansen and Minister Heydon.

Francie Gorman said the IFA were receiving “very mixed messages” in Brussels on the shape of the EU Commission’s proposals for the MFF and next CAP due to be published today (Wednesday).

One European news outlet reported on Tuesday that the European Commission was planning to unify delivery of cohesion funds and agricultural subsidies, which are its two largest budget items.

“It seems the Commission’s Single Fund approach, despite broad resistance, still appears to be on the table,” said Mr Gorman.

“The finer details of CAP - the need for its traditional two-pillar structure and better targeting and redistribution of payments to the genuine active farmer – are important, but if the CAP budget within the MFF is not retained, we are on the hind foot from the start. It becomes a very different conversation then as to the targeting of funds and ‘who needs it most’,” Francie Gorman said.

IFA National Rural Development Chair John Curran said, “What is clear is that the Single Fund proposal would be the end of CAP as we know it and could potentially have massive consequences for Irish agriculture, particularly the vulnerable sectors and how they are supported.”

“For Pillar II alone, it’s worth €875m a year or close on €8,000 per farm, with its relative importance greater the further west you travel,” he said.

“These Pillar II supports are all Commission priorities too – innovation; young farmers; organics; agri-environment etc were all called out within the Commission’s Vision for Agriculture & Food report. It’s nonsensical and outright contradictory if the Commission were to merge these into other broader non-agri specific funds. The problems in rural areas will not be solved by moving financial support away from farmers,” he cautioned.

Meanwhile Fianna Fáil TD for the constituency, Brendan Smith has taken the matter up with his government colleague Minister Heydon.

Following a Parliamentary Question he raised in the Dáil, Deputy Smith urged the minister to engage with his EU counterparts to ensure “robust and sustained” funding for CAP in the next EU budget.

In response, Minister Heydon confirmed he is actively engaged with EU institutions and fellow Agriculture Ministers to influence the next CAP and noted that Ireland will play a key role in upcoming negotiations, particularly during its EU Presidency in 2026.

Ireland’s current CAP Strategic Plan (2023–2027) is backed by €9.8 billion in EU and national funding for income supports, agri-environmental schemes, and rural development.

A former Agriculture minister, Deputy Smith said the next phase of CAP must go further.

“A strong CAP is vital, not just for producing food but for supporting climate action, protecting biodiversity and keeping rural communities alive. That means real investment,” Deputy Smith said.

“Farmers need certainty for the future. Without proper CAP funding we risk damaging the entire agri-food sector and hollowing out rural Ireland.”

Major changes

Speaking today, Minister Martin Heydon said : “The Commission is proposing major changes in structure that we will now study in detail in order to better understand the impact on Ireland.”

The Minister noted that the publication of the proposals marks an important step, but that this is the start of a process which will form a key focus for Ireland when it assumes the EU Presidency in July 2026: “Today’s publication is just the beginning of a protracted process. Member States will, through the Council of Ministers, begin the process of agreeing a general approach to the Commission’s proposals, before engaging in line by line negotiations with the EU Parliament and the EU Commission. This will take some time, and I fully expect the progression of these proposals to be a significant feature of Ireland’s Presidency of the EU Council in the second half of next year.”

Minister Heydon concluded: “I will work closely with my EU counterparts, with the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, and with stakeholders, including farm bodies, to ensure that these objectives are achieved.

“I will host the first meeting of Ireland’s CAP Consultative Committee tomorrow which will engage in detail on these proposals.”