Coveney must lobby Europe for land penalties amnesty, says IFA boss

IFA president John Bryan has repeated his call on Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney to take personal control of the land eligibility issue and ensure that retrospective penalties are not unfairly imposed on thousands of farmers.

He said the doubling of penalties since 2012 had angered farmers who had previous claims accepted.

He said Mr Coveney has to make it clear in Brussels that it is unacceptable that land deemed eligible previously, and paid on by the department, is now considered ineligible. The IFA wants the minister to negotiate an amnesty with the European Commission to remove retrospective penalties.