Tillage farmers to stage Dáil protest over losses

Tillage farmers will stage a protest outside the Dáil today as part of a campaign to secure an aid package for growers who suffered severe weather-related losses in the last harvest.

IFA president Joe Healy has called on Agriculture Minister Michael Creed to provide funding of €4m for these farmers.

“There is no excuse for any further delay on this decision,” he told the IFA’s AGM in Dublin yesterday.

Mr Healy said the survival of the native grain sector is critical for Irish farming. Greater import dependence would mean higher feed prices and damage competitiveness.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil has confirmed that it will raise the issue during Private Members Business in the Dáil today.

The party’s agriculture spokesman, Charlie McConalogue, said hundreds of tillage farmers along the west and south coasts saw their crops fail as a result of the severe weather last autumn.

“The torrential rain saw land waterlogged and tillage harvests ruined, resulting in lost revenue and income,” he said.

“These losses can be ill-afforded at a time when farmers are already battling against low grain prices, increased input costs, and poor margins.”