Agriculture Section in Draft Programme for Government Lacking Specific Financial Commitments

IFA President Francie Gorman said the agriculture section in the draft Programme for Government focuses on many of the issues raised by IFA during the General Election campaign last November.

Based on an initial assessment of the document, he said that a lot of the commitments lacked specifics and funding details.

“A lot of the commitments in the document are consistent with IFA policy, but it does not contain any clarity on the level of funding for farm schemes,” he said. 

“I would acknowledge the strong commitments in relation to fighting to retain the Nitrates derogation for our grass-based system. The commitment to oppose the current Mercosur deal is also important as the changes made in December are of no help to Ireland. I also want to recognise the commitment on live exports,” he said.

“We made a comprehensive submission to the political parties and candidates in advance of the election campaign and we invited the three main party leaders to address our National Council during the campaign. Many of the points raised have been referenced in the agriculture section of today’s draft PfG document,” he said.

The IFA President said he looked forward to an early engagement with the Minister and Ministers of State for Agriculture, once the Government is formed next week.

“We have a number of priorities that will require strong political focus. Whoever is appointed Minister will have to hit the ground running.” he said. 

“We want to ensure that commitments made during the election campaign are carried through to the workings of the new Government.”