Farmers association: Budget 'a necessary evil'

The Irish Cattle and sheep farming association has described today's Budget announced by Finance Minister Brian Lenihan as "a necessary evil in terms of cuts and taxes".

ICSA president Gabriel Gilmartin said that there is some recognition that there must be a limit to cuts as far as farming was concerned.

He said: "Previous budgets and government decisions have hammered farming and it is no harm to see some effort to move away from the slash and burn on farming schemes. It seems that the Department of Finance has accepted that the AEOS scheme needs to be kept in place for farmers exiting REPS up to May 2011.

"News that the suckler welfare scheme is to be maintained, albeit at the lower rate of €40, is also a recognition that a cuts-only strategy is not conducive to export led growth. The Food Harvest 2020 report has set out an ambitious strategy of increased output and exports and it is evident that this must be part of a strategic plan for economic recovery."

From a farming point of view, the group said that the key strategic supports, such as REPS and the Suckler Welfare Scheme, have already been decimated by previous government decisions.

Mr Gilmartin was also critical of the increase in PRSI for the self-employed especially as they do not have access to the same social protection supports as PAYE workers.