Budget measures will harm Gaeltacht

BUDGET cutbacks will cause serious damage to the Gaeltacht economy, taking €8 million a year out of the rural west of Ireland, farmers in the area have warned.

Hundreds of farmers will hold a meeting tonight with Minister for Rural, Community and Gaeltacht Affairs, Eamon Ó Cuiv who will hear how their incomes will be damaged by budget measures due to come into effect in January.

The Irish Farmers’ Association claims people in Connemara and the rural west of Ireland will be particularly damaged by budget cuts to farm schemes.

The association said changes to the suckler cow welfare scheme mean hundreds of farmers in the area will see their annual incomes drop by €5,000 next year.

The meeting at Peacocks in Maamcross will also hear how new restrictions in the Disadvantaged Area Scheme, introduced to help farmers working on poor land in Connemara, will seriously effect the income of farmers.

Barry Donnelly, president of the IFA Galway Branch, said: “Farming is the only sector where incomes will be seriously damaged before the 1% income levy comes into effect.”

Mr Donnelly said that changes in the farming sector will take an estimated €8m out of the economy in the Gaeltacht and “this will have a big knock-on effect in the area, effecting businesses and livelihoods in the region”.