IFA accuses Coveney of caving in on budget cuts and failing farmers

AGRICULTURE Minister Simon Coveney and the IFA are at loggerheads over the level of budget cuts facing farmers.

IFA deputy president, Eddie Downey, has accused Mr Coveney of caving in on budget cuts, and not fighting the farmers’ case with his cabinet colleagues.

He spoke after the minister’s address to the Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Natural Resources and Agriculture, where Mr Coveney outlined proposed cuts of over €350 million to the 2012 agriculture budget.