Specific Details
Ireland's Presidency of the EU
Intended results
To request a meeting with the Minister of State in the Department of An Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs to discuss the Irish Presidency of the EU and the top priorities for the IFA.
To focus on improving the conditions of farm families and rural areas nationally and through the cooperation of EU Member State Organisations.
To emphasise that, given that agriculture is Ireland's largest indigenous industry, exporting over €18.1 billion worth of goods in 2024 and supporting over 300,000 jobs directly and indirectly, it is imperative that a competitive agriculture sector is a central priority of the Irish Presidency of the EU in 2026.
That, given the timing of the Irish Presidency and the Council objective of concluding specific negotiations by the end of 2026, It is likely that Ireland will conclude negotiations on the Multiannual Financial and Common Agricultural Policies which gives further importance to placing agriculture at the very center of the Presidency Priorities, and specifically an increased budget allocation for all genuine active farmers.
1. To propose a Profitable European Agriculture Sector
- To stress that agriculture across the EU faces significant challenges which have been further compounded following the COVID-19 crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Market volatility for both output and input prices have become commonplace which has made the sector more unstable. There must be a sustained focus and necessity to attract young people into the farming sector and how to make farming more attractive in the EU.
- There is a lack of understanding on areas like the current costs of running a farming enterprise, the cost of compliance and how this has impacts on viability, attracting younger people into the sector and stabilizing incomes. If the EU Institutions are serious about the future of farming in Europe, making the sector attractive via fair and stable incomes should be central to this.
- Continually raiding CAP for environmental ambition will not promote greater economic nor social sustainability. New, independent money is needed. CAP should be for farmers and food production. Environmental action, including that of NRL obligations, should be funded elsewhere.
2. To propose a Fair Global Trading Environment
- Global Trade has also become increasingly volatile in recent years stemming from significant geopolitical events which continue to shape and change how agricultural goods are traded. Ireland is a highly export oriented country especially in terms of meat and dairy. Our products are internationally recognized for their quality, traceability and commitments to high levels of animal welfare.
The same standards do not apply globally and Irish and EU produce face increasing competition from produce that is not produced to the same EU phytosanitary and welfare standards. As stated in the Vision for Agriculture and Food – The EU must investigate further how it can prevent products which are not produced to the same standards from entering the EU Food Chain. This must encompass a central tenet to the success / progression of current and future EU trade agreements.
3. To propose True Simplification and Better Regulation
- There is a significant push towards simplification in the current EU Commission spanning all sectors of the economy, yet farmers across the EU still contend with disproportionate levels of bureaucracy and incoherent legislation from the previous EU mandate that is not conducive to the effort to achieve a more competitive EU Agriculture Sector. There must be an absolute commitment to simplifying the implementation of EU laws for farmers directly on the ground.
- Equally the EU must move towards a more coherent system for proposing any new directives and regulations which are pragmatic and considerate of realities on the ground. There are too many examples of laws which have been proposed by the Commission which are eventually discovered to be unimplementable and not conducive to running a business competitively in the EU. Agriculture must be a centrally involved in the Communication on Better Regulation expected in 2026.
To highlight the particular policy areas and legislative proposals that should be a focus of work for the Irish Presidency of the Council in 2026.
1. To propose amendments to the Common Agricultural Policy Regulation Post 2027
- The announcement of the new structure, governance, and budget reduction of the CAP in July 2024 has brought significant concern over the most important policy to Irish farmers and has led to protests by farmers in Brussels. The new governance structure of the CAP represents a dilution of stakeholder input into the CAP and does not promote simplification.
This proposal is hugely concerning for Irish farmers with up to 75% of family farm income in vulnerable sectors derived from Direct Payments in 2023/24. The proposal represents the potential loss of a ringfenced CAP fund and has completely eroded the Pillar 2 element focusing on infrastructure and Agri-environment schemes.
This CAP proposal also has the potential to impose added liability to National Governments in terms of governance. The lack of ringfencing leaves the policy vulnerable to government change and thus the types of supports that farmers may receive. This offers little room for long term planning and has the potential to result in disjointed schemes and infrastructure commitments, neither of which are conducive to environmental improvement.
It is imperative that under the Irish presidency, the government garners support for further ringfencing and significant increases in the commitments in the NRPPs surrounding agricultural productivity and food production for the benefit of all genuine active farmers.
2. Proposed Amendment of EC Regulation 1/2005 on Live Animal Transport
To highlight that Ireland's location as an island nation on the western fringes of the European Union must be considered when potentially revising the live Animal Transport regulation with key consideration given to the length of allowable journey times to ensure the continuity of trade between Ireland and EU member states and Ireland and third countries as well as the age of calves on when they can be first transported.
That an electrolyte feed as an alternative to milk replacers during transport must also be considered due to inconsistencies in the composition of different milk replacers and nutritional upsets in calves will increase if only protein-based feeds are used in transport. Ireland is a leader of best practice in terms of animal transport and has implemented both the current Regulation 1/2005 and additional measures beyond the current legislation to ensure good animal welfare during transport.
That consideration of this must be given in any further revisions which could cause a disproportionate economic burden to Irish farmers. Full access and continuation of third country exports must also be assured given their economic importance to livestock producers and role as a competitive, fair and functioning market for Irish farmers.
To emphasise that Ireland has demonstrated its commitment to safe third country exports via additional monitoring measures and reporting during transport, often being the only EU member state to do so.
3. Unfair Trading Practices (Update of rules on unfair trading practices in the food chain (legislative, Article 43 TFEU, Q3 2026)
To highlight that a proposal on the revision of the UTP legislation is likely to be negotiated under the Irish Presidency. Under this revision, there should be greater powers given to the national competent authorities which enforce the UTPs. The EU should pay closer attention to the price returns occurring across food supply chains and aim for the greatest levels of transparency and fairness to be incorporated into agri-food supply chains particularly for those in the domestic retail market.
4. Livestock strategy including elements on animal welfare (Q2 2026)
To emphasise that Ireland is specifically well placed to contribute significantly to the future proposal of an EU Livestock Strategy. Irelands agriculture model is unique to the context of European Agriculture given that is predominantly grass based and livestock focused. Ireland is a leader in terms of progressive livestock farming with extensive research and extension services which could be a model to other member states in terms of livestock policy.
The livestock strategy should promote animal farming and as stated in the vision recognise that ‘no one size fits all' when it comes to livestock production in the EU.
To highlight that Ireland has one of the highest shares of its population living rurally in Europe and this should be an important part of Ireland's Presidency of the EU. It would be important that the benefits that come with hosting the presidency are not confined to purely urban centers, but instead in locations where EU Legislation / proposals may have greatest impact (e.g. NRL and Western regions).
This can serve as an example to other member states that rural communities should not be alienated by the EU and that it is listening and engaging with the issues that are affecting rural people across the EU.
To highlight that other previous presidencies have shown the value of hosting presidency events outside of Capital cities, the Polish presidency utilized Gdansk and Poznan while the Belgian presidency regularly hosted events in Ghent. EU support is most visible in the Irish countryside with rural development projects in most communities and the impact of the CAP is visible in almost every farm yard in Ireland.
The importance that this investment has had on Ireland cannot be underestimated and at a time when the CAP is coming under financial pressure from budget cuts, it should be displayed widely the impact that EU funding has had on modernizing the landscape of Irish Agriculture.
Recognizing this rural demography, of which farming plays an important role in supporting, the Irish Presidency should place focus on policies which have significant socio-economic impacts for rural people, businesses, and communities. Ireland is distinctly unique in terms of its geographical location, climate, and agriculture model more broadly.
An example of this being that more than 90% of Ireland's agricultural area is covered by grasslands which is drastically more than the EU average. Equally Ireland has a distinctly high percentage of peatland soils which are important in the context of EU climate policy.
The Government should take this opportunity to demonstrate Irelands unique characteristics to other EU delegations during the Presidency so they can understand Ireland better when it comes to future EU policy making. This will have benefits for rural people, businesses, and communities if other EU countries can understand Ireland more accurately moving forward. Farm visits should be incorporated into agriculture focused visits especially in July and September when weather is favorable.
To emphasise that, in the months leading up to the Presidency, it is important that the Government communicates clearly what the significance of the Presidency is but equally how it functions in a simplified and digestible manner for those with more limited knowledge of how the EU functions. The EU legislative process and institutions themselves are complex and the government should try to increase general literacy of the European Union in the lead up to the Presidency.
This can help people understand more what competencies the EU has and how it impacts them more directly, this can in turn help with creating a positive light around the presidency.
That, in an agricultural context, communicating the development journey and transformation that Ireland has come on since joining the EU in 1973 would be valuable. While this has overwhelmingly been a positive journey and farmers appreciate the significant impact that EU has had on Ireland, there have also been challenging times for both Irish and EU agriculture including the BSE crisis and various CAP reforms.
Highlighting this journey through events and agricultural media would be important.
To accept an invitation to attend a joint committee meeting on Ireland's Presidency of the EU.
Aidan Davitt
Senator (Seanad)
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin
MEP (European Parliament)
Barry Andrews
MEP (European Parliament)
Barry Cowen
MEP (European Parliament)
Barry Ward
TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)
Billy Kelleher
MEP (European Parliament)
Chris Andrews
Senator (Seanad)
Ciaran Mullooly
MEP (European Parliament)
Cynthia Ní Mhurchú
MEP (European Parliament)
Daniel Griffin
Special Advisor (Department of Foreign Affairs)
Eamon Scanlon
TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)
Eileen Lynch
Senator (Seanad)
Fiona O'Loughlin
Senator (Seanad)
Helen McEntee
Minister (Department of Foreign Affairs)
John Lahart
TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)
Kathleen Funchion
MEP (European Parliament)
Kevin Smyth
Assistant Secretary (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Luke Ming Flanagan
MEP (European Parliament)
Maria Walsh
MEP (European Parliament)
Michael McNamara
MEP (European Parliament)
Michael Murphy
TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)
Nina Carberry
MEP (European Parliament)
Paul Nicholas Gogarty
TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)
Paula Butterly
TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)
Regina Doherty
MEP (European Parliament)
Robert O'Donoghue
TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)
Rónán Mullen
Senator (Seanad)
Ruairí Ó Murchú
TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)
Seán Crowe
TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)
Sean Kelly
MEP (European Parliament)
Thomas Byrne
Minister of State (Department of Foreign Affairs)
Daniel Griffin
Special Adviser (Department of Foreign Affairs)