Labours plans for land owners and walkers
The party also support the Doha Development Round in world trade talks, and the delivery of fair trade rules for the developing world.
Labour says it would encourage part-time farming.
Agricultural supports would be linked to greenhouse gas abatement where possible, alongside more research into how herd management could be the improved to reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions.
There has been a strong reaction from the farming lobby to the party’s plan to provide certainty and security for land owners and recreational walkers. They would be designating all land more than 150 metres above sea level as ‘public access land’, and indemnify landowners against injury or accidents on their land.
A government agency, Sport and Recreation Ireland, would partner local authorities, OPW, Coillte and Waterways Ireland to develop outdoor activity facilities such as treks, walks and cycle ways.
On the controversial topic of farm inspections, Labour says no risks would be taken with the effective delivery of single farm payments to farmers and their families.
The party says it would work with the European Commission to secure the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme beyond 2010. It would go ahead with the Government’s €250 million animal welfare, recording and breeding scheme for suckler herds, and give capital investment support for beef and sheepmeat primary processing. It would maintain farm consolidation support measures, such as continuing provision of stamp duty relief for qualifying farmers under 50, and would raise leased land exemption thresholds.
Start-up aid for co-op supply chains in the wood biomass energy sector is part of plans to develop the domestic bioenergy industry, along with abolishing excise duty on transport bio-fuels and making the Energy Crops Scheme more attractive to farmers.
Labour would foster continuing education for farming and rural families, and ensure the Agriculture Appeals Office fulfils its duties. It would establish a brand to do for organic agriculture what ‘Kerrygold’ has done for conventional agriculture, backed up by adequate testing to protect the integrity of organic food.
Labour would support development of high added-value and specialist milk products. By building on existing high quality agri-food research, the party envisages innovations, such as plastic materials and chemical agents developed from plants such as beet.
Labour says it would promote informed debate on GMO production, and ensure food labelling enables consumers to select foods to meet their dietary requirements.
Only products wholly produced here could be labelled as Irish.
An important aim for Labour is ending food poverty which, it says, affects up to 20% of the Irish population who do not receive adequate nutrition.
Policy in this area includes free meals for every primary and secondary school child who needs them; filling the gaps where voluntary groups do not provide school meals and meals-on-wheels, and minimum nutritional standards for each meal.
Labour and Fine Gael have published a joint policy on traffic light food labelling. Within six months of coming to power Labour would tender for the upgrade and “broadband enabling” of telephone exchanges in those, mainly rural, areas where it has been uneconomic for the private sector to do so.
It would invest to ensure access to clean, safe drinking water for all.
Labour would reduce by 50% the rates bills of the last remaining village shops, pubs and garages in communities, and address poverty and social exclusion among rural women. Farm spouses’ work on the farm is appropriately recognised by the social welfare system.
The party advocates that five key areas must be addressed in developing our sea fisheries and marine strategy, and says sea fisheries can be profitable and sustainable in the long-term.
The party supports annualised forest planting targets of 20,000 hectares, and would keep the real value of premium payments constant.
