IFA: Acts of ‘dying’ government must not jeopardise livelihoods

THE livelihoods of 128,000 farming families should not be put in jeopardy by political changes introduced in the last days of the Government, according to IFA president John Bryan.

The farm group leader told delegates at the IFA’s AGM in the Irish Farm Centre in Dublin yesterday that the IFA would continue to resist any measures that put farm incomes at risk, such as the Climate Change Bill due to be voted on later today.

“I want to make it absolutely clear: the future of 128,000 farm families, and the future of our economy, cannot be jeopardised by the irrational ideology of the Greens in the dying days of this Government,” said Mr Bryan. “I am calling on all senators and TDs to put jobs, exports and economic recovery first and to reject this bill, until the legitimate concerns of our agri-food sector are dealt with.”

In response to a query about other future environmental strategies alluded to by Labour Party election candidate Ivana Bacik on RTÉ television the previous evening, Mr Bryan stressed that any incoming Government would need to put job creation at the top of its agenda.

He added that farming was rightly viewed as the primary likely source of indigenous Irish jobs over the coming four to five years.

“We all know there will be continuing pressure on the public finances over the coming years, but achieving growth must remain at the centre of public policy. From the point of view of Labour, I can only presume that they will want to come into Government with a clean pair of hands, and a plan to create jobs and get the economy out of the hole it is currently in.

“The rest of the world is going far slower with their carbon emission strategies. I don’t see that there is anything to be gained from racing ahead of everybody else. It is accepted by everyone that Ireland has one of the world’s cleanest, most environmentally friendly approaches to farming.”

IFA general secretary Pat Smith added that a bad Climate Change Bill could do more economic damage to the Irish economy than any of the changes to Ireland’s 12.5% corporation tax regime, being sought by some of our EU neighbours.

The economic threat, he said, deserves to be more widely viewed in a similar light.

In his address to the packed hall of delegates, Mr Bryan cited positives such as the retention of the AEOS environmental scheme. The replacement for the old REPS scheme, AEOS should help keep active farmer numbers from falling during 2011. Some 9,000 farmers have already joined AEOS, and the retention of the scheme in the December budget should open the way for a further 10,000 joining this year.

The IFA president also cited positives in 2010 such as the securing of the €18 million annual sheep package, a commitment of €90m to help fund targeted measures in pig and poultry welfare, dairy equipment, sheep handling and fencing, and water harvesting over the next three years.

He also welcomed the fact that the €120m final tranche of the Farm Waste Management Scheme had “finally” been paid.

Mr Bryan said the IFA had plans to seek an updated Charter of Farmers’ Rights and Payments Protocol to ensure that farmers received their scheme payments more promptly in future years.