MACRA NA FEIRME DEBATE:THERE IS a danger that the EU agricultural budget will be cut and policy adapted to fit the amount of funding available, Fine Gael MEP for Ireland East Maireád McGuinness warned last night.
She was one of a number of European election candidates for the constituency taking part in a debate in Kilkenny organised by Macra na Feirme and chaired by incoming Macra president Michael Gowing.
Ms McGuinness warned against moves in Brussels to have agricultural policy co-financed to a greater extent by the member-states because, she said, farmers would be at a loss if this happened.
A questioner asked about the affiliations to different groups by Irish MEPs in Strasbourg and wanted to know if the candidates would vote against the interests of Irish agriculture because of group discipline.
Labour’s Nessa Childers said she would be a member of the Party of European Socialists (PES) but these groups had a “very loose whip” and she would vote in favour of the interests of Ireland and Irish agriculture. “There is a lot of leeway in how you vote.”
Sinn Féin’s Kathleen Funchion said she would “always vote in the interests of the people that I represent” but favoured more consultation with farming groups in particular.
Ms McGuinness said that she worked within her group for Irish interests but each MEP made a personal decision. “There is no force in a vote, it is democracy.”
There would be 12 members from Ireland and the Fine Gael members had always worked within the European People’s Party (EPP) for Irish interests.
Fine Gael’s Senator John Paul Phelan said there was no government or opposition in the European Parliament. “The nature of the European Parliament is very different, it’s all about cooperation between groups.”
As an MEP he would vote according to the wishes of the “people that I represent”.
Fianna Fail TD Thomas Byrne, who is also a European candidate, said Fianna Fail had committed to joining the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group in Strasbourg as a means of exerting greater influence. He would vote “first and foremost” in the interests of the country and his constituency.
A questioner asked about the upcoming review of the Common Agriculture Policy.
Fianna Fail MEP Liam Aylward said: “The CAP has changed dramatically over a number of years.” People should remember the size of the funds that were still coming into the country through this mechanism, he added.
Senator Phelan said: “The pitch is not level and that’s the bottom line.” Farmers in Europe were obliged to keep to standards which did not apply in other places.
Mr Jim Tallon (Independent) diverged from the topic to say that his farm, cattle, pension and milk quota were stolen. He said he was censored by RTÉ during a byelection in Wicklow “for talking about cows”.