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Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal after his presentation on Brexit to the EU Affairs Committee and Joint Oireachtas Agriculture Committee in Leinster House on Thursday 20 October, EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan said that Ireland can use small amounts of aid (de minimis aid) to support its struggling mushroom sector.
De minimis aid is not considered state aid because the amount of money involved means it does not unfairly affect competition in the single market.
"What Europe can do is say we can overcome state aid rules problems in relation to supporting any individual sector," the Commissioner told the Irish Farmers Journal.
"So if Ireland wishes to propose some financial support solely for the mushroom sector under the de minimis ceiling, which allows for a maximum of €15,000 per farmer or €500,000 per company over a three-year period, Europe would be happy to approve that."
Hogan added, however, that Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has not yet made a submission on this issue.
I suspect Minister Creed would be looking at how he can help the mushroom sector at this time
"No submission has been made on that particular issue," he said, "but I suspect the minister would be looking at how he can help the mushroom sector at this time."
The first real casualty of Brexit
Commissioner Hogan called Ireland's mushroom sector "the first real casualty of Brexit".
The sector, which employs around 3,300 people in rural Ireland, has been hit hard by the weakening of sterling brought about by the British vote to leave the EU on 23 June.
Three businesses have closed since the vote in June and some 130 jobs have been lost, with more business closures and job losses expected in the coming weeks. Of the 70,000t of mushroom produced in the Republic of Ireland each year, 80% of this amount ends up in the UK.
"The mushroom sector is the first real casualty of Brexit," said the Commissioner. "It’s a very sheltered sector with a high level of dependency on the UK market".
Listen to podcast with Commissioner Phil Hogan below
Listen to "Commissioner Hogan on Brexit and state aid for mushroom sector" on Spreaker.
€150m loan scheme
Although it has not proposed any aid for the mushroom sector in particular, the Irish Government has cited the €150m agri cashflow support loan fund announced in Budget 2017 as a measure that could help both the mushroom sector and Ireland's tillage farmers, who are struggling to break even after this year's bad harvest.
The Government created the fund, which is open to all sectors, by co-financing the €11m given to Ireland by the EU in July this year to the tune of €14m. The resulting €25m was turned into the €150m loan.
The fund has been sent to Brussels for approval and the Commissioner said he hopes it can be approved within the next two weeks.
"We are in discussions with the Department of Agriculture and Minister of Agriculture in Ireland who we are satisfied have made a very solid application to the Commission," Hogan told the Irish Farmers Journal.
"But there are a few technical details that have to be resolved," he continued, "and hopefully that will happen in the next couple of weeks."
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