Government vows to fight ‘unacceptable’ measures
Her remarks were echoed by farming, industry and political leaders as fears intensified that the proposals could wipe out the Irish beet growing and sugar processing industry which has played a vital role in Ireland’s rural economy for 80 years.
Ms Coughlan said she acknowledged there was a need to reform the sugar regime but the proposals published in Brussels yesterday were unbalanced and could lead to drastic consequences for the sugar beet industry in a number of member states including Ireland.
This was unprecedented in terms of reform proposals presented by the Commission for any sector, she said, confirming that she would be opposing the proposals strongly when they come before the Council of Ministers.
Ms Coughlan said the proposals will be considered in the coming weeks and months in the Council.
She said she intends to work with like-minded colleagues to have them modified to ensure a more orderly and balanced adjustment to the EU sugar regime which would take account of all the stakeholders involved.
Ms Coughlan said her objective would be to ensure that Irish interests are fully taken into account in whatever final agreement might emerge.
In this context, she said she would reiterate her serious concerns about the direction the commission was proposing when she meets with Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, who will be visiting Ireland today.
In a protest at the European Commission offices in Dublin yesterday, Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) president John Dillon warned that the EU proposals would, if implemented, wipe out the livelihoods of Ireland’s 3,750 beet growers. He handed over a letter of protest at a meeting with the head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland Martin Territt.
The IFA leader said the proposals were unprecedented in the history of the Common Agriculture Policy in that they were deliberately framed to shut down production of a specific product, sugar beet, in certain member states, including Ireland.
“The IFA will fight for the survival of sugar beet as a viable crop for Irish tillage farmers. The cuts proposed are totally unsustainable because they would drive prices below the cost of production and put growers out of business,” he said.
Mr Dillon warned that if the EU succeeded in closing an industry which has been an important tillage enterprise for 80 years, then full and proper compensation would have to be paid directly to beet growers who suffered the loss of their livelihoods. The EU must also support viable, alternative crop enterprises for Irish farmers to overcome the body blow of these reforms, he said.
IFA Sugar Beet committee chairman Jim O’Regan said Ms Coughlan had a major responsibility to resist the scale of the price cuts proposed and to protect the interests of beet growers.
“The EU proposal would mean a cut of 47% in beet prices to Irish growers which would collapse growers’ incomes by 67%, even after price cut compensation. There is no way growers could continue to produce in that situation,” he said.
David Dilger, chief executive, Greencore Group plc, of which Irish Sugar is part, said the current proposals went too far, too fast. If implemented, they would threaten the viability of a sufficient number of sugar beet growers in Ireland and raise serious questions about the long-term availability of a competitive sugar-beet supply.
“Without a guaranteed supply, no sugar business can confidently expect to survive. All stakeholders in this industry will need to work closely and effectively together to ensure that sugar and sugar beet production can continue to be adequately profitable in Ireland. That is our determined aim,” he said.
Mr Dilger said Greencore believed the proposed price cuts for both sugar and sugar beet were excessive and more severe than those required for the EU to meet either its international obligations or the adjustment in policy appropriate for the EU.
He said the phase of transition to lower sugar beet prices ought to be longer to enable Irish growers to achieve the radical reduction in their cost base which will be required to enable sugar beet to be grown with adequate profitability.
He added that the level of proposed compensation to sugar beet growers ought to be increased.
Macra na Feirme president Colm Markey said Ms Coughlan must continue to fight for a viable future for beet farmers and insisted that any compensation for surrendering beet quota must be paid directly to the farmers who were filling the quota.
Fine Gael TD Denis Naughten said the proposals would decimate the Irish sugar industry and must be vehemently opposed by the Minister.
Green Party deputy leader Mary White said the Government should seize the opportunity by turning Ireland’s declining sugar industry into a profitable and much needed biofuel industry.
