Fianna Fáil reveals 10-point fodder crisis plan

Fianna Fáil has launched a 10-point emergency action plan to combat the fodder and income crisis facing farmers.

A €25m Brexit loan scheme and €200 suckler cow payment are among the measures which the party says must be introduced immediately.

From severe snow at the start of the year to the fodder crisis which was followed by drought conditions over the summer, farmers have experienced extreme difficulties which have put pressure on finances and resources.

Fianna Fáil has hit out at the “inept policy response” by the Government to the fodder shortages and is calling for rollout of a hardship fund to assist farmers in buying feed and fodder and to help them cover mounting overheads.

Agriculture spokesman Charlie McConalogue said: “The Government must at once bring forward a nationally financed hardship fund to help farmers who have been severely impacted by the fodder crisis, escalating costs, falling cattle prices, and extreme weather conditions all year.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin had been due to launch the action plan at the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co Offaly, before it was cancelled due to Storm Ali yesterday.

Mr Martin is due to attend the event today.

Organisers of the event were forced to cancel the second day of the Ploughing Championships just before midday yesterday after high winds damaged some of the exhibits and prevented people from gaining access to the massive site.

However, the National Ploughing Association has confirmed that the event will reopen today and an extra day will be held on Friday.

While he acknowledged that Agriculture Minister Michael Creed had secured enhanced flexibility from the EU on the GLAS scheme, Mr McConalogue said Irish farmers, “who are quite simply living on the breadline”, have only received “token additional funding” when compared to farmers in other countries.

The Donegal TD said: “For example, the Swedish government is helping its struggling farmers by allocating €117m to cover feed shortages for livestock and income loss. Germany is committing over €300m to its farmers in supports.

Fianna Fáil also wants Mr Creed to immediately convene the Beef Forum to make it clear to factories that the fodder crisis cannot be used to drop the price paid to farmers for produce.

Jackie Cahill, Fianna Fáil’s spokesman on food and horticulture, said the provision of low-cost credit is now critical and said the Government now needs to introduce a new low-interest fodder and income loan crisis fund to help farmers pay down debts incurred.

Delivery to date on the €25m low-cost Brexit loan scheme for farmers and fishermen, announced in October 2017, has been inept, to say the least. The fact that it has yet to be opened tells its own story,” he said.

“Irish farmers are in the midst of a national emergency putting a huge strain on their mental health and creating animal welfare issues. This crisis once more shows how out of touch Fine Gael is with rural Ireland with no urgency shown in bringing forwarding solutions.”