Latest news with #DenisDrennan
Agriland
6 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
‘Farmers are going to suffer losses' under proposed CAP changes
Farmers are 'going to suffer losses' under the European Commission's plans for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the next long term EU budget, according to the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA). The commission unveiled its plans for CAP as its proposals for the next Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028 to 2034 were detailed to the European Parliament's budget committee today (Wednesday, July 16). According to Denis Drennan, president of the ICMSA, the Commission's CAP plans represent a speeded-up timetable for the EU's withdrawal of direct supports to farming and primary food production. Drennan also believes that the European Commission's CAP plans have the potential to drive food prices up across the EU and drive down the 'high standard and sustainable food production within the EU. 'It's not even difficult to predict the disaster that will follow this announcement, it's just simple logic. 'As the direct supports for farmers fall, they will have to raise prices as they sell along the chain with a resulting impact at the point of sale to the consumer,' he added. CAP The president of the ICMSA also believes that questions have to be asked about the EU's ability 'to feed itself' if its CAP plans go ahead. 'Some people might think this is alarmist, but those very same people should take a close look at developments in EU agriculture, their view will certainly change when they do so,' Drennan added. He said although CAP had failed to pace with inflation, the impact of potential reductions to individual payments as a result of the commission's proposals would mean 'cuts will be piled on cuts'. 'We've had many promises from the Commission on CAP on support and simplification. 'None have been kept. Today's announcement simply underlines the slide into irrelevance. The EU can no longer even pretend to be an asset to farmers, it's an obstacle, a negative, that causes more problems than it provides solutions,' Drennan said. He is now calling on the Taoiseach to 'immediately signal Ireland's rejection' of the Commission's proposals and has urged Irish MEPS to do the same.
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
CAP proposal will downgrade food production, says IFA
Farming groups in Ireland and across Europe have criticised EU plans to overhaul the Common Agricultural Payment (CAP) system under new reforms, saying the key farm payment was being downgraded. Under new budget proposals, Brussels is set to propose capping the EU subsidies a single farmer can receive each year, in an attempt to redistribute the bloc's massive farming subsidies in favour of smaller businesses. The proposal would merge the CAP's current two-pillar structure into one fund. CAP, today is worth around €387bn, or a third of the bloc's entire budget. The commission proposal would attempt to redistribute more subsidies to smaller farmers by capping at €100,000 per year the area-based income support they can receive, the draft said. It would also progressively reduce the amount paid out per hectare for those receiving the most. For example, farmers receiving area-based income support above €20,000 per year would have their subsidies above this level cut by 25%, payments above €50,000 per year would be cut by 50%, and payments above €75,000 by 75%, the draft said. Speaking from Brussels, Francie Gorman, president of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) said what is emerging about how farming will be funded from 2027 is very concerning. 'It is clear that the EU Commission is downgrading the importance of the CAP and food production to allow for greater spending elsewhere,' he said. 'The CAP is being turned into an environmental and social policy. Support for farmers who are producing the most food is being consistently reduced. "The commission seem more interested in finding ways to cut payments to individual farmers rather than support them,' he said. 'At a time when Ireland is a net contributor to the overall EU budget, this level of investment in every parish takes on even more significance. "CAP has been the cornerstone of the multi-billion export sector that underpins thousands of jobs in regions far from the urban centres,' he said. President of the ICMSA, Denis Drennan said the 'reforms' were actually just a speeded-up timetable for the EU's withdrawal of direct supports to farming and primary food production. 'Farmers are going to suffer losses under these proposals and that is indisputable fact,' he said. He said the only absolute certainty arising out of the announcements was that high standard and sustainable food production within the EU would fall and that food prices across the EU would rise as farmers will have to seek more from the marketplace to replace the reduced supports. Mr Drennan said it was absolutely incumbent on the EU Commission to spell out exactly the implications for a typical Irish dairy or livestock farmer in terms of the financial loss under its proposals and how they expect those farmers to make a living based on the commission proposals. This is not the first time Brussels has attempted to cap subsidies, to limit payouts to big landowners and agro-industrial firms. President of the ICMSA, Denis Drennan said it was absolutely incumbent on the EU Commission to spell out exactly the implications for a typical Irish dairy or livestock farmer in terms of the financial loss under its proposals. Picture: Dylan Vaughan "In the previous CAP, roughly 80% of payments went to 20% of the beneficiaries. Past proposals to do this were rejected by EU governments concerned about their farming industries. EU countries and the European Parliament must approve the new budget for 2028-2034. The policy would set overarching EU-wide green targets that farmers must meet to receive subsidies, while obliging countries to set additional, locally-tailored conditions. The minister for agriculture, food and the marine, Martin Heydon said the complex legislative proposals will need detailed consideration. 'The commission is proposing major changes in structure that we will now study in detail in order to better understand the impact on Ireland,' he said. 'Today's publication is just the beginning of a protracted process. "Member states will, through the Council of Ministers, begin the process of agreeing a general approach to the commission's proposals, before engaging in line-by-line negotiations with the EU Parliament and the EU Commission.' Additional reporting Reuters
Irish Times
13-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Retailers deny price gouging as farmers warn high prices are the new normal
The surge in food prices in recent years is the 'new normal' and a consequence of more sustainable farming practices and tighter regulation rather than a temporary aberration, a leading farming group has warned. And retailers have insisted they are not profiteering at the expense of Irish consumers, their margins modest and grocery inflation in the State low by European standards. Data published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Thursday points to a year-on-year price increase across the food and non-alcoholic drink sector of 4.6 per cent. However, in some areas, including meat and dairy, the price hikes are in double digits. According to the CSO, butter, which sells for around €3.99 a pound for own store brands and €5.49 for Kerrygold, is €1.10 more expensive than this time last year. READ MORE Other dairy basics have also recorded substantial increases, with shoppers paying, on average, 95 cent a kilo more for cheddar cheese and 27 cent more for a litre of milk. [ Price of grocery staples running well ahead of general inflation Opens in new window ] The latest increasers come on top three years of food inflation that have added in excess of €3,000 on to many households' annual bills, with no prospect of relief on the horizon. Denis Drennan of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) told The Irish Times that it was 'more than a little irritating to be listening to politicians expressing amazement and concern about the surge in food prices when those same politicians seemed to have no problem at all voting through measures often directly responsible for heaping up higher costs on the farmers and processors producing that food.' He said regulations that now 'completely set the context for farming cost money, and what's really irritating – certainly from ICMSA's view – is the implication that, somehow, the farmers should have absorbed the increased costs out of our income, out of our margin'. He warned that the increases consumers have faced in recent years are not 'any kind of 'price spike' or aberration' but were 'the new normal'. [ Irish people more concerned about cost of food than counterparts Opens in new window ] 'Getting the food of the mandated standard to the fridge of your local supermarket has a cost – economically and environmentally – and that cost has to be paid,' said Drennan. He pointed to what he described as 'a decade or more when consumers were allowed to believe in the fantasy that all the change and astronomical expense involved in transitioning to low-emissions farming and primary food production was going to happen from the supermarket fridge backwards to the farm without any change or cost to the consumer. That was just a fantasy, and we now see the consternation when consumers realise that, actually, everyone is going to have to pay more for the new system.' Drennan also pointed to data which suggests that previous generations 'spent more than twice what we are [spending] as a percentage of the average family's disposable income. Irish consumers are not overpaying now; the data suggests they've been underpaying for decades and are only now starting to get a glimpse of what their food really costs.' Arnold Dillion of Retail Ireland, the Ibec umbrella group that represents supermarkets, said margins in grocery retail were low, with recent price increases 'overwhelmingly due to cost increases further up the supply chain'. He said that despite an increase in inflationary pressures in some categories, 'Irish food inflation trends remains below the EU average', and he pointed to a 2023 report by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) which stated that the Irish grocery market 'remains highly competitive'. He suggested that the Irish market was 'highly competitive, profit margins are tight, and pricing decisions are primarily shaped by external cost pressures. The financial information in the public domain confirms that Irish grocery retailers are not earning abnormal profits, and are operating in full compliance with legal and regulatory standards.'
Extra.ie
26-06-2025
- Business
- Extra.ie
Furious farmers back EU-wide ban on plant-based products 'hijacking' meat terminology
Furious farmers have shared their support for an EU-wide ban on vegetarian and vegan food producers using meat-related words to sell their products New rules are currently under draft by the European Commission which would result in the food producers being banned from using words such as sausage and burger to 'camouflage' their products. The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), who represent farmers locally and internationally, have said they welcome the new restrictions under review. Furious farmers have shared their support for an EU-wide ban which on vegetarian and vegan food producers using meat-related words to sell their products. Pic: Getty Images President Denis Drennan said the use of meat terminology to market veggie foods was 'deliberate and cynical and must constitute a breach of any trade descriptions act as commonly understood.' Mr Drennan said the terms were being 'hijacked' in an attempt to 'camouflage' non-meat products. He said while 'people are free to eat whatever they want,' farmers are 'irritated' by the fact that those trying to 'replace naturally produced meat and dairy' are using words 'generally understood to refer to' those products. He said while 'people are free to eat whatever they want,' farmers are 'irritated' of the fact that those trying to 'replace naturally produced meat and dairy' are using words 'generally understood to refer to' those products. Pic: Getty Images 'Rather than come up with their own terms and descriptions, they simply appropriate the names of the very good they're trying to replace and supplant,' Mr Drennan said, 'It's unbelievably cynical.' Mr Drennan added that it was confirmation from corporations that 'they know they're unable to convince consumers by their own efforts or merits.' The ICMSA President added: 'The fact that they're being allowed to 'camouflage' and take advantage of people's understanding is wrong and will have to be addressed.' It comes as French MEP Céline Imart proposed an amendment which banned plant-based products from being labelled with a long list of terms typically linked to animal products. The European Court of Justice has already ruled that non-dairy products cannot be described as milk and cheese.
RTÉ News
26-06-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Possible ban on labelling plant-based food with animal terms like 'burger'
The European Commission is set to consider a ban on plant-based food products from being labelled with terms such as 'sausage', 'burger', or 'steak'. It follows a proposal from French MEP Céline Imart to make it illegal to use terms linked to animal products on labelling for products that don't contain meat. The Commission is currently drafting its own proposals for the reform of the common market organisation (CMO) regulation, which allows for changes to rules governing agricultural products. These are due to be published in the coming weeks. A number of member states, including Ireland, have expressed support for such a ban. The EU's Agriculture and Fisheries Council recently debated a paper from the Czech government calling for the protection of traditional names of animal-origin food. Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Slovakia co-signed the document, while Ireland, France, and Spain are among the countries backing it. According to the paper, an increasing number of plant-based foods have come onto the single market that are "similar in appearance, taste and consistency to products of animal origin", and that they are "very often labelled with the names belonging to meat, eggs, honey, fish, and products made from them" despite the fact that they "differ substantially from food products of animal origin". The paper says that it is essential that foods that "imitate" foods of animal origin do not "mislead the consumer by their labelling". Farming groups welcome pressure on Commission to make changes Welcoming reports that the EU Commission is under pressure to ban the use of dairy or meat terminology to promote vegetarian or synthetic foods, ICMSA President Denis Drennan said that "the employment of terms like 'sausage', 'burger' and 'schnitzel' in vegetarian or vegan foods was deliberate and cynical and must constitute a breach of any trade descriptions act as commonly understood. "The hijacking of traditional meat and dairy terms actually constitutes an admission by the corporations involved that they are unable to convince consumers other than by such camouflage. "Obviously, people are free to eat whatever they want but it is a matter of considerable irritation to farmers to see the very people and corporations who want to replace our naturally produced meat and dairy with their own non-meat and non-dairy products very deliberately using the terms that they know are generally understood to refer to traditional dairy and meat products," Mr Drennan added. Last year the European Court of Justice ruled that EU member states were prevented from introducing bans on the use of meaty names on non-meat products. This followed a legal challenge from plant-based food producers against a French ban.
