Loans would be backed by biggest private bank

The leader of the country’s agricultural co-ops has warned that their capacity to fully realise the ambitious targets in the Government’s plans for agri-food expansion over the next 10 years may be constrained by their ability to deal with the challenge of climate change.

European negotiators must insist upon equivalence of standards in their advanced trade talks with the Mercosur group of countries, said IFA president Eddie Downey.

This is the first and probably the last chance for family farms, especially those who have been developing over the last decade, to fight for a fair share of the CAP budget.