IFA refute “rural failure” allegation

IFA has hit back at accusations that most Irish farming leaders have failed their members and rural Ireland.

At its recent Annual Conference, Irish Rural Link (IRL), the national lobby group for Irish rural development, targeted the farming organisations.

IRL Chief Executive, Seamus Boland, said: “Farming organisations and farmers are going to have to realise that they no longer hold a monopoly on rural policies and, for that matter, rural monies.

“We need and want farmers at the heart of rural communities, but there is a need for a radical re-think on what is the future of farming rather than just blindly follow past strategies.”

IFA Rural Development chairman Padraic Divilly rejected comments by IRL that farm leaders and their organisations had pursued flawed policies.

He said farming exports, its linkage with suppliers of goods and services and processors of farm products and the expenditure of farm families, still backbone most rural areas. He said it is clear that the bulk of EU funds are targeted at improving the competitiveness of agriculture and the agri-food industry, along with environmental and land management schemes.