Farm plan fails to meet inflation: FG

WHILE the €6.8 billion farm partnership package announced by Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan was a positive step, it will be severely eroded over its lifetime up to 2013 and fails to account for inflation, Fine Gael has claimed.

Party agriculture spokesman Denis Naughten, TD, said while some new elements are welcome, the reality is the grant increases are only marginal in key schemes such as REPS, Installation Aid and Early Farm Retirement, when inflation is taken into account.

“The headline figures are positive but closer inspection indicates it does not go far enough to ensure farmers have the prospect of earning even the average industrial wage,” he said.