Farmers target TDs in fight to keep grants

ANGRY farmers kept Government TDs in their sights yesterday in a fight to retain the scope of the REPS environmentally friendly grants payments.

After eggs were thrown at the house of Monaghan Fianna Fáil deputy Margaret Conlon, demonstrations were held in other parts of the country.

The IFA said politicians’ homes should not be the focus of protests but said farmers were frustrated at yet another cut their incomes.

In Mayo, Beverly Flynn’s offices were targeted.

And in Limerick gardaí had to be called to the constituency office of Defence minister Willie O’Dea in Farranshone.

Up to 50 IFA members demonstrated at the office over a cap on entries to the REPS 4 scheme.

Mr O’Dea met with a small number of the farmers in his office, but some others insisted on personally putting their concerns to him.

As they knocked on the front door, Mr O’Dea walked out past them and got into his car.

However, some of the farmers prevented the car leaving a cul de sac and gardaí had to be called.

“I know how they feel. Some of my own family are in farming,” Mr O’Dea said.

Representatives of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association also arrived at the Department of Agriculture offices on Kildare Street to press Minister Brendan Smith to allow more people to avail of REPs 4 grants.

But on RTÉ Mr Smith defended his decision to cap the REPS 4 applicants.

Fine Gael’s spokesman on agriculture Michael Creed said he had rarely witnessed such anger in farming communities.

He said farmers on REPS 2 and REPS 3 had expected to be included in REPS 4 when their current schemes expired but were now facing income drops which will average €6,000 per year.

“It was in the Programme for Government that 70,000 people would be included. The minister said there are 62,000 people in REPS but now the number will be declining and declining quickly because people on the old REPS schemes will be falling off as their contracts expire,” he said.

Farmers groups said up to 30,000 farmers will lose out on the scheme, which rewards environmentally friendly farming, because of Mr Smith’s decision.

Mr Creed called on Mr Smith to keep the number of farmers in REPS at at least 62,000.