IFA President Warns over Farm Schemes

IFA President John Bryan has warned that the Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney cannot cut farm schemes any further in future Budgets. He said, “Farmers are outraged that the Minister is already talking about more cuts in the December Budget. If he needs savings, he can find them elsewhere.”
John Bryan said, “Farmers are having a very tough year, with the bad weather increasing costs and prices falling. The Minister’s job is to support farmers, and he must rule out any threat to existing schemes, and open AEOS for all farmers leaving REPS3.”

He said, “There is a contradiction when the Government is able to find €2bn for various projects, yet funding for farm schemes, which is a stimulus for the rural economy, continues to be cut. Minister Simon Coveney’s delay in announcing a meaningful AEOS scheme is in stark contrast to his repeated endorsement of the targets in Food Harvest 2020, and I am again calling on the Minister to bring forward a properly-funded AEOS3.”