Farmers are spending 50% of their time dealing with regulation and form filling, according to Fine Gael European election candidate for Ireland South, John Mullins, who said “we must ensure that farmers do not continue to drown in red tape”.
There is currently “too much” red tape that farmers have to deal with which, Mullins said, “cannot continue”. Farmers must be supported and when it comes to regulation, things must be made “easier” for them, he added.
Mullins said there should be one “universal” online form or portal for all agencies developed, so there is not a “constant replication of demands” on farmers.
Farmers are the “backbone of many communities in Ireland” and it must be ensured that they get a “fair deal” when it comes to the formulation of policy at a national and European level, Mullins, who is the former CEO of Bord Gáis Éireann, said.
“Farmers are telling me that they are spending 50% of their time on the land and 50% of their time dealing with regulation and form filling.
“Many of them have to give the same information in different formats to multiple agencies. Life is hard enough for farmers, so let us rationalise the burden,” Mullins said.
Mullins said he supports the review of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in relation to several Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs) which aims to ease the administrative burden for EU farmers.
“I very much support the review being undertaken to simplify the CAP”, Mullins, who previously called on all Irish MEPs to support the review in a vote in the European Parliament, said.
Farmers will be able to retroactively apply some of the new rules to environmental conditions for the claim year 2024, following a vote by member states to give the final approval yesterday (Monday, May 13).