OUTPUT-BASED farm payments are a thing of the past, to be replaced by a controversial “flat rate” per-hectare payment model, EU Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Ciolos confirmed at yesterday’s Irish Farmer’s Association (IFA) annual general meeting.

OUTPUT in the horticultural industry, which employs some 10,000 workers, is now valued at more than €300 million annually and retail sales are in the order of €650m.

OUTPUT in the Irish construction sector plunged by more than 26% in the second quarter of the year while Poland saw a near 20% surge.