Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak up for farmers in County Clare. I wish to show the House a document that we recently received from the IFA in Clare, entitled “Enough is Enough”. Farmers have felt completely disregarded by the Government in terms of not receiving enough support and respect for the work they do, what that work provides to their local communities and the hardships they have faced in recent years. They feel that their concerns have not been heeded by the Government and that there needs to be a shakeup of agricultural policy at national and European levels.

I will put some perspective on this. Agriculture in Clare contributes more than €1 billion to the local economy. There are 12,000 people directly and indirectly employed in agriculture. Over 20% of the working population in Clare is involved in agri-related jobs. There are some 6,297 family farms in Clare, with the average age of a farmer being 59 owing to the fact that major struggles have been encountered in trying to attract younger farmers.

The Department made a shambles of the ACRES payments. The significant delays put considerable financial pressure on farmers, who ultimately paid the price for them and the Department’s inadequacies. The IFA made the point that, if the shoe were on the other foot and farmers were even a day late applying for a scheme, they would be excluded automatically, with no room or flexibility for them.

Clare IFA wants the Government to acknowledge the income challenges facing farmers arising from the significant increase in the cost of doing business, including regulatory costs, and the cuts in basic income supports for farmers, let alone the inclement weather that has delayed the planting of crops and led to crop harvest failures, higher bedding, feeding and housing costs for those with farm animals, and tougher farming conditions more generally. Clare IFA wants a commitment from the Government that it will not introduce further regulations on farmers or any measures that would increase farmers’ costs without full negotiation and agreement with the IFA and stand-alone funding, separate to the CAP, to support farmers in undertaking climate and biodiversity measures.

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