Taking nothing for granted

MINISTER Brendan Smith’s promise this week that waste management scheme grants will be paid has eased farmers’ worst worries.

But when the announcement was made on Monday, they couldn’t help but wonder if it is just a softener for bad news in the Government’s plan to save a further €2 billion per year.

It was unfortunate timing for farmers — and for all our food industry — that the EU recently started to dilute its rural funding across 25 member states, plus Bulgaria and Romania. Our own exchequer, greatly boosted by the Celtic Tiger, was taking up more and more of the slack.