IFA warning at scheme closure

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has warned of a “dire income crisis” facing thousands of farmers following the Government’s decision to close an environmental farming scheme to new applicants.

Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith last week announced that the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (Reps), which rewards farmers for environmentally friendly practices, would be closed to new entrants.

The scheme, which has some 62,000 members, is estimated to be worth on average €8,550 to participating farmers.

IFA president Padraig Walshe said the Minister’s decision to close the Reps scheme coupled with a further cut in disadvantaged areas supports represented “the last straw for the hard pressed farming sector”.

Mr Walshe said: “These decisions will drive the incomes of thousands of farm families below €5 an hour and well below the poverty line and are in stark contrast to the quoted hourly rates enjoyed by other sectors.”

“The inequity of these Government decisions is creating a totally elitist society where the producers of food are compelled to operate in one of the most costly and bureaucratic economies in the world,” he said.

He said that anger amongst farmers at the Government’s decision was growing by the day and warned that the farming community was set to revolt against Minister Smith’s “lack of support and understanding" for the sector.

Mr Walshe’s made his comments as two separate farming groups staged protests in Dublin and Mayo today over the Government’s plan to discontinue the scheme.

Up to 150 IFA members demonstrated outside the constituency offices of Mayo Fianna Fáil TD Beverley Flynn in Castlebar today.

The chairman of Mayo IFA Martin Gavin said there was a high dependency on Reps in Mayo, with some 7,500 farmers relying heavily on the scheme.

Mr Gavin said the scheme was worth around €40 million per annum to Mayo and the decision to close it to new entrants represented a “devastating blow” to farmers in the west.

Up to 40 members of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmer’s Association (ICSA) demonstrated outside the Department of Agriculture in Dublin this morning, claiming farmers had been unfairly singled out for more excessive cuts than any other sector in the economy.

ICSA president Malcolm Thompson said: “The closure of the Reps scheme is potentially devastating. For many farmers, especially in the cattle and sheep sectors; the Reps scheme is a substantial component of their income.”

Mr Thompson said: “Farmers have taken this action today as we have no other avenue left open to us. There are no meaningful negotiations at social partnership level.”

ICSA rural development chairman Gabriel Gilmartin said: “There is increasing anger at the government’s inability to face up to the real expenditure problems facing the country - €20 billion public sector pay bill and the €21 billion social welfare cost, in addition to the frightening costs associated with the banking crisis.

"The repeated government mantra of a country pulling together seems very hollow when we see no action on the big issues while soft targets such as agriculture are consistently hit. We have no option left but to fight back," he added.

The move to close the scheme has been strongly criticised by Opposition parties and environmental groups who claim the scheme is vital for the sustainable management of rural areas.

But Mr Smith said last week his decision to withdraw funding for the scheme had been taken in the context of the “critical state of the public finances”.

IFA members have staged several demonstartions outside the offices of Government TDs and Ministers in the west of Ireland since his decision was announced.

Some 450 farmers held a protest over the cutbacks in Kerry on Saturday in which they called on local independent TD Jackie Healy Rae to demand an immediate meeting with the Taoiseach and Minister for Agriculture on the matter.