News – April 2009
29th April 2009 – ICSA Outlines Strong Objections to EID at Meeting with Brussels Officials
ICSA sheep chairman Mervyn Sunderland and general secretary Eddie Punch met with senior officials in the EU’s Directorate General for Health and Consumer Affairs (DG SANCO) in Brussels yesterday and outlined Irish farmers’ strong objections to the introduction of electronic sheep tagging.
ICSA made strong representations regarding the negatives of the electronic identification system. Mr Sunderland said that the whole EID proposal was a knee jerk response to the disastrous handling of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in the UK in 2001. However, lessons had been learned from that experience and the UK was able to effectively control the spread of FMD in 2007 without recourse to EID.
“The cost of this bears no relation to the ability of sheep farmers to pay for it. A study undertaken for the EU put the cost for the UK alone at anywhere between €35 and €70 million, 90% of which would be carried by farmers. This cost will further damage the competitiveness of the EU sheep sector,” said Mr Sunderland.
“This is further compounded by the fact that sheep meat imported from outside the EU will have been produced without the cost of EID. Once again the EU has contrived to create an uneven playing pitch which discriminates against its own producers.”
However, there did appear to be a willingness to look at possible flexibilities in the implementation of EID subject to compliance with the articles of the regulation. Mr Punch said “ICSA believes that there is no logic to electronically tagging sheep that are not being moved off farm (e.g. ewes for breeding). We emphasised that one of the problems that would significantly add to the cost is the ongoing need to replace lost tags, which of course are very expensive.”
“It is clear that there is still no prospect of EU sheep farmers buying into the system. They see it as bringing unacceptable costs, extra bureaucracy as well as potential for unfair cross compliance fines and it will further hasten the exodus from the sector,” Mr Punch concluded.
ICSA were joined by other representatives from Fairness for Farmers in Europe (FFE) group.
17th April 2009 – ICSA Expresses Concern at EU Review of Less Favoured Areas Scheme
ICSA rural development chairman Gabriel Gilmartin has expressed concern at soundings from the European Commission of possible changes to the criteria under the Less Favoured Area scheme.
“Farmers in disadvantaged areas have already been severely impacted by cuts to the scheme in the October budget. A reduction in the number of hectares from 45 to 34 has seen many farmers lose up to €1000 already and any more proposed changes will be eyed very suspiciously.”
Mr Gilmartin is advising the Commission to “tread carefully” with any further proposals to change the eligibility requirements under the scheme and has called on the Minister for Agriculture and Irish MEPs to remain vigilant to any further developments around this issue.
“It is becoming even harder to remain viable in farming in these areas what with wet summers, high input costs and low market returns for beef and lamb. These supports are very necessary to ensure people can remain farming in these areas, which is vital to the rural economy,” he concluded.
16th April 2009 – €190 to Collect a Dead Animal – ‘No Way’ says ICSA
ICSA president Malcolm Thompson has said that there is no way that farmers can possibly afford to pay €190 for the disposal of a dead animal following the withdrawal of the government subsidised Fallen Animal Scheme.
“The scheme was first introduced as a result of the BSE scare which thankfully is no longer an issue. Prior to this, on farm burial of dead animals was normal practice. Given that we are now looking at up to €200 to bury a dead animal, it is clear that a new solution must be found. When a farmer loses an animal, he is already at a considerable loss and this exorbitant cost is utterly unsustainable,” he said.
“I believe that all the stakeholders in this must work together to find a solution. What is clear is that farmers cannot carry these outlandish new charges especially at a time when belt tightening is the order of the day,” he said. ICSA is seeking an urgent meeting with the Minister and the knackeries in an effort to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.
14th April 2009 – ICSA Welcomes Minister’s Milk Initiative
ICSA president Malcolm Thompson has welcomed the announcement by Minister Smith that a percentage of the additional quota available will be ring fenced for new applicants and has described the initiative as “a step in the right direction.”
“The option of getting into dairying has been denied to our members for over 25 years. It is ridiculous that farmers and their successors were excluded on the basis of decisions taken so long ago. ICSA has been seeking this change for a number of years. Although milk price has fallen dramatically this year as part of the global cyclical downturn, the reality is that over any given 10 year period, milk production will strongly out-perform other farm enterprise in terms of profitability. Ireland’s competitive advantage lies in grass based systems ideally suited to dairying,” he said.
“Many suckler farmers have enterprises which are simply not profitable and many of these farms lend themselves to milk production. This may well be the opportunity for these farmers to establish themselves on a viable footing.”
“For too long Ireland has complacently allowed young farmers to engage in part time farming while working off farm on building sites and in factories. This quick fix solution could never contribute to a vibrant future farming sector and its short sightedness is becoming clear now. Our vision for agriculture must be built around more full time farming rather than the current set up where so many struggle to balance looking after livestock in the evenings and on weekends.”
Mr Thompson said that he looked forward to seeing the details of the new policy and he cautioned that measures would have to be put in place to ensure that this initiative actually benefits bona fide new entrants and is not manipulated by existing dairy farmers.
9th April 2009 – Some Progress on REPS 4 Mess
ICSA rural development chairman Gabriel Gilmartin said today that he expected most of the outstanding REPS 4 payments to be made in the coming weeks including the remaining 25% owed. However, he expressed annoyance and frustration that a number of farmers will still end up being ineligible for the 2008 scheme owing to deficiencies in their REPS plans.
Mr Gilmartin said “while a little progress has been made in sorting out some of the REPS problems, the reality is that farmers are the innocent victims in all of this. It is not an acceptable state of affairs that so many REPS planners who normally have no problems, could find themselves unable to submit plans that were acceptable. The whole REPS 4 scheme has been marred by even more red tape from Brussels.”
Mr Gilmartin has proposed to the department that the criteria under REPS 4 should be reviewed in the light of the 17% cut that was implemented in the supplementary budget.
He said that he was insisting from now on that there would be a process of adequate consultation and updating between the department and planners so that farmers could have more confidence in the whole system. He added that it was clear that the May 15th deadline for all REPS applications imposed by Brussels against the advice of the government and farm organisations was an utter disaster.
“The old system of all year round applications was far more conducive to quality REPS plans, less red tape and overall a more streamlined system,” he concluded.
8th April 2009 – ‘Leave REPS 3 Alone’ says ICSA
ICSA rural development chairman Gabriel Gilmartin has called on the Minister for Agriculture not to impose any further cuts to the REPS schemes after yesterday’s 17% cut to REPS 4. Mr Gilmartin expressed serious concern about potential cuts to REPS 3 which was contained in the small print of yesterday’s budget.
Mr Gilmartin said “the reduction of REPS 4 by 17% will impact the average participating farmer’s payment by almost €1,000. REPS is a very effective way of providing a stimulus package to rural economies.” He explained that REPS farmers typically use their REPS payments to carry out a range of improvement works which tend to have a high labour content and thereby support additional employment locally.
He has also called on Teagasc and independent REPS planners to cut their rates for developing REPS plans by 17% to reflect the cut farmers are now forced to take as a result of yesterday’s supplementary budget.
7th April 2009 – Farming Knocked Again in Budget that Misses the Big Targets
ICSA has said that today’s supplementary budget has continued to hit the soft targets in agriculture, and has imposed considerable additional burdens with significant increases in taxation/levies. ICSA president Malcolm Thompson said “this supplementary budget does not face up to the inescapable reality that the public finances cannot sustain the €20 billion public sector wage bill and the €21 billion social welfare bill.”
Mr Thompson said “ICSA is extremely frustrated at the cuts to the REPS scheme (17% on REPS 4 and a possible threat to levels of REPS 3 payments) which makes no sense, particularly as there is a significant EU funding element to the scheme and because REPS money is substantially recycled through the rural economy. Also the cuts to the Fallen Animals Scheme and Forestry are to be deplored. The government forgets that export led sectors like farming should be supported, not hammered.”
“The supplementary budget is also flawed in that too much emphasis has been put on increased taxation, especially the inequitable income levy which does not allow for capital allowances on essential investments. The government has ignored the fact that no economy can tax its way out of a recession. The key items of government expenditure that are totally out of control are public sector pay at €20 billion and social welfare at €21 billion. These two figures are stark when compared with government income of just €34 billion”concluded Mr Thompson.
3rd April 2009 - ICSA President Warns Farmers Cannot be Soft Targets Again in New Budget
ICSA president Malcolm Thompson has warned the government that farmers have already borne severe cuts in the October budget and that they are not in a position to take any more. “It has been a torrid six months for farmers with severe impacts on their livelihoods as a result of the October budget, coupled with extensive failures on the government’s part to pay money outstanding to them. The delays to REPS payments and the Farm Waste Management Scheme debacle have left many farmers at the pin of their collar financially.”
