Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for missing some of the presentation. I was in the Seanad contributing to the debate on child benefit.

My contact with this topic is Connemara. While I live east of Galway, where there is a very different type of farming from the area to the west, I come in contact with this issue very often. My assessment is that many rules on destocking and care for the environment have been placed on farmers in the hill areas of Connemara over the years. How effective are those destocking rules and the requirements farmers must fulfil? How much income has been lost to producers as a result of those requirements under various directives?

There is a view that as a result of all of this, by virtue of their location and the local terrain, the income of these farmers is completely controlled. As a result there is an over-reliance on direct payments through no fault of their own. Have there been any discussions with Government about a commitment to co-funding REPS and rural development programmes? What are the thoughts on this and what feedback has the IFA received on the issue?