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Almost every farmer in Ireland will see their direct payment increase or decrease over the period of the next CAP as efforts continue to flatten payments.
To fund payment increases to those with low-value entitlements, 54,567 farmers with entitlements above the national average will suffer cuts. The average annual cut could range from €93 to €353.
Proposals by the European Parliament for the full flattening of payments are the most dramatic. Some 68,000 farmers would stand to gain.
Fewer farmers would benefit from these proposals
Approximately €19.3m would move every year from those with high-value entitlements to those with low-value entitlements.
The European Commission has proposed that entitlements should reach 75% of the national average. Fewer farmers would benefit from these proposals, with increases for 54,567. Some €5.9m would be redistributed annually.
Under the Commission’s proposals, 16,390 farmers will see no change to their entitlements while 7,430 will remain static under the Parliament’s proposals. Of those losing money, half are suckler farmers (22%) or beef finishers (27%). The next biggest contributing sector is dairy (16%).
The cattle sector will also gain the most from the proposals.
Notably, more suckler farmers (28%) will gain than beef finishers (21%).
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