Debate on SFP will grow

The announcement that Kerry Group will create up to 900 jobs in Kildare within three years provided the ideal backing for the estimated 20,000 farmers demonstrating in Dublin on Tuesday.

It was described by Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney as perhaps the most significant investment ever in the Irish agri-food industry, and proof the sector can be central to rebuilding the economy.

What better acknowledgement could the IFA have hoped for, as they warned that their most productive farmer members could lose out due to cuts and changes in the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy?