70 farm jobs ‘at risk’ over pay costs

UP TO 70 jobs are at risk in north Co Dublin because of pay costs, the Irish Farmers Association claimed last night.

It warned the Government that competitiveness in export-led sectors, such as the food industry, is just as critical as dealing with the public finances in the current economic crisis.

Giving one example, IFA president Padraig Walshe said Tesco source most of their fresh vegetables and potatoes in the Dublin-Meath area, and while their prices to producers aren’t great, at least they are a market for their produce.