Coveney earns very high ratings
The Irish Examiner/ICMSA survey found Mr Coveney is held in far higher esteem by farmers than his opposite number in Fianna Fáil, Eamon Ó Cuiv, and in Sinn Féin, Martin Ferris.
When asked about Mr Coveney’s performance as agriculture minister, 53% of farmers said they believed he was doing a good or excellent job in the position, against 29% for Mr Ó Cuiv and a paltry 8% for Mr Ferris.
Geographically, the view of Mr Coveney’s performance was somewhat more mixed. Surprisingly, the most positive view of the agriculture minister was not in his native county of Cork, where in the one region surveyed — Skibbereen — about 60% thought he was doing an excellent or good job. Just 3% here thought he was doing a poor job. The most support for Mr Coveney’s performance was in Cappamore in Limerick, where 82% felt he was doing a good or excellent job.
This was followed by 70% in Dungarvan in Waterford, 48% in Tullamore in Offaly, and 45% in Tinahealy in Wicklow. The lowest opinion of his performance came from those in Athenry in Galway where just 22% felt he was doing a good or excellent job and 42% said he was doing a poor or very poor job.
A total of 54% of men felt Mr Coveney was doing a good or excellent job, compared to 48% of women.
Most support for his performance came from among farmers aged over 65 where some 66% of farmers felt he was doing a good or excellent job. Those with the most negative view of Mr Coveney’s performance were in the 45 to 54 age bracket (46%), closely followed by those farmers under the age of 35 (45%).
Mr Coveney notably helped secure agreement in June on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. The deal was the most significant reform of EU agricultural policy in the past decade, allowing for a significant revision to the way the single farm payment is distributed. It is estimated that about 60,000 farmers will see their yearly payment increase under the scheme, with about 50,000 experiencing cuts. The reforms also saw 2017 set as the date for the abolition of sugar quotas — which will allow Ireland to have the option of returning to sugar production. The deal received a largely mixed response from Irish farmers.
