IFA ends Kildare Street protest

Michael Creed, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has welcomed the decision by the IFA to end their occupation of the Department's headquarters in Dublin. The minister confirmed that he had secured approval from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for the outline of a €1.5 million Crop Loss Measure and was committed to the introduction of this measure at the earliest possible time.

The minister confirmed his willingness to discuss the detail with a view to ensuring this support is  best targeted at those most impacted and facilitated a meeting this morning.

IFA has been lobbying for a support package for tillage farmers who lost crops in the 2016 harvest due to dire weather conditions.

Joe Healy said IFA has held a number of meetings with the Department about the details of the scheme, and the Department had committed to a further meeting once the draft scheme had been prepared. This has not happened. “We need to sit down with the Minister and sort this out before the scheme is published,†Joe Healy said.

Meath Grain Chairman Dermot Ward said members were very concerned about the selective information that appeared in the media. The report quoted a Department spokesman as saying that the scheme would go ahead and gave some limited details about the scheme.

He said, “The details are totally unacceptable to the Grain Committee, as the scheme appears to be too narrow and restrictive. The reported budget may not be sufficient to cover the full extent of the losses incurred by farmers. Those farmers who are most affected must receive the most from the schemeâ€.

“Given the financial pressure farmers have been under for almost a year as a result of lost crops, it is crucial that payments are made to farmers as soon as possible. It must be user friendly and ensure that sufficient aid gets to those who deserve it.â€