Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has opened the door to a return to coupled payments in the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal at Beef 2026 in Teagasc, Grange, as he took over the presidency of the Council of the EU’s farming ministers, he said coupled payments will need to be discussed in light of the sweeping changes proposed to entitlements.

“In the likes of the coupled payments, that’s something that has to be discussed in the conversation around where we’re at with entitlements.

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“If we don’t have entitlements in this country, then we will need some mechanism of support for your vulnerable sectors,” he said. He cited the beef, sheep and tillage sectors as vulnerable sectors.

“If we don’t have entitlements here then beef finishers [and] tillage farmers would be some of the most vulnerable to be hit. That’s where the conversation around coupling would come in,” he said.

CAP budget

Minister Heydon was bullish when asked if he was resigned to the CAP budget being cut by over 20%.

“Oh no. I’m not. I’m just not. At the minute it’s a 24% cut. This is key to everything we do. My position to date has been very clear. There’s a trap to fall into here, where people say is it defence spending or is it spending on agriculture and CAP,” he said.

The Kildare South TD said that he can’t look “member state colleagues in the eyes, particularly from eastern Europe, who are convinced that Russia is in a pre-war phase and is going to invade them, and say we shouldn’t be spending more on defence”.

However, he said what he can tell them is that food security is an integral part of the conversation on increased spending on defence.