IFA boss unhappy over IRL remarks
Ruaidhri Deasy, deputy president of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), was responding to Irish Rural Link (IRL), which challenged the view that agriculture is the dominant player in rural areas and the rural economy.
IRL chief executive Seamus Boland said farming organisations and farmers must realise they no longer hold a monopoly on rural policies and monies.
“For too long rural community groups and their needs have been bypassed by various policy-makers, including farming bodies, and this is not acceptable, especially in light of the need for balanced regional development that is often cited by government ministers,” he said.
The national lobby group for rural development said at the opening of its two-day annual conference in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, that studies and reports had shown farming was in decline, posing serious questions for rural areas and their development.
The group claimed rural development policy, which was seen as the preserve of the farmer, especially by farming organisations, needed to be implemented for the benefit of the wider rural community.
However, Mr Deasy warned that current EU measures are worth more than €700m annually to Irish farmers and an attempt to tamper with this would have devastating effects on rural communities.
He said the IRL “just want to get their hands on the loot to spend on building crooked walls around crazy curates’ houses”.
He added that EU rural development supports for farmers are vital to sustain rural communities.
He said the IRL comments were simplistic and failed to recognise that agriculture’s survival is linked to the sustainability of the wider rural community.
“The EU fund for rural development is the second pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy and is specifically called the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
“This clearly indicates the agricultural sector is being targeted in the support mechanism for rural development.”
