Government wants farmers in partnership, says Walsh
He told reporters at the Farm Machinery Show in Punchestown Exhibition Centre in Co Kildare that the Government has worked hard to facilitate farmers to continue in partnership on this occasion.
It had put 17 pages of a document in place for the farming community. Contacts were ongoing at official level. He said he hoped in the next few days the farmers would see the opportunity and find a formula to remain in the process.
Mr Walsh said the main elements of the demands of the main farming organisations are being met in the proposals.
“The situation is different from previous partnership talks in that we have a very difficult economic climate. The finances are constrained and many of the pillars attending these talks did not get all their demands met, nor could they with the stringent financial straight jacket which we are in.
“Farmers, of course, could not get all their demands met either. But I believe that what is on the table is meeting the main elements of the demands of farmers,” he said.
Rejecting claims farmers had been pushed out of the negotiations, Mr Walsh said he was disappointed farmers could not see their way to continuing in a partnership which has provided a stable economic climate.
But the IFA president John Dillon, who also attended the show, claimed the Government had failed to come up with one euro in additional commitments to agriculture despite three months of partnership negotiations.
“When Mr Walsh was under pressure in the tractor protest, he told farmers their concerns over low farm incomes and the future of farming would be addressed in the partnership talks. Those commitments had come to nothing,” he said.
Mr Dillon said the deal on the table now is simply a dressed up public pay deal.
Despite the fact that agriculture and food still accounts for 20% of all jobs and 20% of all export earnings, the Government has refused to commit reasonable resources to farming, he said.
