Maria Walsh: Generation Renewal Needs Binding Targets
MEP Maria Walsh addresses the Parliament on generation renewal in the CAP, arguing for specific binding targets to support young farmers. She calls for improved access to land and finance, succession planning, and stronger risk management and farm relief services.
Maria Walsh thanked colleagues for cross-party amendments and set out the shared priorities: protecting or increasing support for young farmers, improving access to land and finance, retirement and succession planning, and strengthening farm profitability. She emphasised the need for binding targets rather than open-ended discussion.
Walsh highlighted amendments across the chamber including proposals on a 10 percent measure for young farmers, better succession planning, support for women in agriculture, investment in rural services, and improved education and advisory services. She noted working with colleague Norbert Linz on the final CAP report.
The MEP warned that the current five-to-seven year CAP cycles make it hard for young farmers to plan and build viable businesses, and said political direction is needed even if immediate change is not possible in this report. She urged the Commission and Council to make generation renewal a priority and called for simplified administration to reduce burdens.
Walsh drew attention to risk management and farm relief services as under-emphasised but essential elements to be included in generation renewal. She closed by urging the institution to send a positive message to young farmers as the agricultural season approaches, stressing viability, profitability and a constructive political approach.
Summary of the intervention
Maria Walsh thanked colleagues for cross-party amendments and set out the shared priorities: protecting or increasing support for young farmers, improving access to land and finance, retirement and succession planning, and strengthening farm profitability. She emphasised the need for binding targets rather than open-ended discussion.
Cross-party consensus and priorities
Walsh highlighted amendments across the chamber including proposals on a 10 percent measure for young farmers, better succession planning, support for women in agriculture, investment in rural services, and improved education and advisory services. She noted working with colleague Norbert Linz on the final CAP report.
Timing and political direction for CAP
The MEP warned that the current five-to-seven year CAP cycles make it hard for young farmers to plan and build viable businesses, and said political direction is needed even if immediate change is not possible in this report. She urged the Commission and Council to make generation renewal a priority and called for simplified administration to reduce burdens.
Risk management and practical supports
Walsh drew attention to risk management and farm relief services as under-emphasised but essential elements to be included in generation renewal. She closed by urging the institution to send a positive message to young farmers as the agricultural season approaches, stressing viability, profitability and a constructive political approach.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Other speeches
Tego samego dnia All speeches from this day →
Luke Ming Flanagan
Luke Ming Flanagan: Farmers' Future at Risk
Luke Ming Flanagan
Luke Ming Flanagan: EU lamb imports risk Irish farmers' incomes
Ciarán Mullooly
Ciarán Mullooly: Calls for Impact Assessment on EU-Australia Deal
Ciarán Mullooly
Ciarán Mullooly: Ring-fence 10% of CAP for Young Farmers
Luke Ming Flanagan
Luke Ming Flanagan: We will run out of oil, plan now
Ciarán Mullooly
Ciarán Mullooly: Calls for a European Strategic Fertiliser Reserve
Transcript
Thank you, thank you Chair. Hopefully I won't utilise all five. Just want to thank colleagues for their input, not just through amendments but here for our second if not third discussion on generation renewal. Just to share a quick consensus of the amendments we got from a cross-party point of view. We've seen amendments on protecting or increasing support for young farmers, we heard that reiterated again today around the 10%, improving access to land and finance, retirement of course coming in and how that will play out to make it viable and profitable for what I would call cradle to grave of farming, strengthening farming profitability. I take points from all colleagues there. Better succession planning, supporting women in agriculture is a key priority for me personally. Investing in rural services, improving education and advisory services, making farming much more attractive. But we can talk all day about this report if we don't make some specific binding targets. So as we move into technicals and shadows that's certainly something that I'll be working towards and making sure I'm working with my colleague Norbert Linz on the final cap report. I think to my renew shadow colleague who said a very clear message needs to get sent to our commission and council on generation renewal needing to be a priority, I wholeheartedly agree with that as well as our colleague from the green who said a long-term vision is needed. I mean much of the conversations I'm having with young farmers is around the length of our cap of which generation renewal feeds into the five to seven year increments, the pendulum swing is not sufficient to them building a business. We might not be able to change this in this report or the next cap but it's certainly something as political direction that we certainly need to take in on board. I hear the point on loosening or certainly simplifying administration burden to make it more competitive and many other points. I don't know how expensive land is in in Austria but Mr MUPI will certainly give us a good deal no doubt and I take all his points on why it's working so well and it is and we got to give credit where it's credit too. Finally one thing that didn't appear as much and certainly something I hope to feed into is around the risk management and also farm relief services two very very important elements that we will see in cap that I hope as generation renewal we're also seeing and then finally just as we break into summer and many of us no doubt linked to agriculture will be out in agricultural shows. I hope the message we're speaking to from this institution towards young farmers is one of positivity and that we're here to fend for them and develop for them. Taking points, viability and profitability needs to be there but if we're not singing from a positive hymn sheet we're going to be kicking ourselves and I certainly wouldn't like that to happen particularly for our young farmers at this critical juncture. Thank you.