The Munster Fine Gael MEP, Mr John Cushnahan, has warned that the EU proposals on CAP reform could cost Ireland more than £500 million annually.
Speaking at an IFA meeting in Blarney, Co Cork, last night, he said the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, should neither be bullied nor pressurised into doing a deal simply to suit the presidency of the Germans.
"The negotiations on CAP reform are reaching a crucial stage at European Union level. The current proposals, if implemented in their present form, would cost Ireland in excess of half a billion pounds annually. The proposed cuts in prices would result in an annual loss to Irish farmers of £260 million," Mr Cushnahan said.
"Additionally, the suggestion that 25 per cent of the Common Agricultural Policy should be financed by national governments would result in a loss to the Irish Exchequer of approximately £225 million annually by 2002. On top of this, farmers who will no longer be in an Objective 1 region will lose the benefits of 75 per cent co-financing by Brussels in key areas such as headage, retirement schemes and forestry payments.
"In the face of such a disaster for Irish agriculture and the Irish economy, pressure is mounting to do a deal at next week's agriculture ministers' meeting. It is vital that our Minister, Joe Walsh, shows that he has a steel backbone and defends the vital national interest. He must not allow himself into doing a deal simply for the convenience of suiting the German presidency's timetable," he said.
"Joe Walsh's message to Brussels must be loud and clear - `no to price cuts without full compensation and no to any rationalisation of the CAP'. "