Speaking at the National Economic Dialogue in Dublin Castle on Thursday, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney spoke on behalf of rural Ireland and agriculture, saying that Ireland is structured very differently to the rest of Europe.

Some 70% of people here live in rural areas, compared to the European average of 20%.

Minister Coveney stressed that any dialogue concerning economic growth and projections for successive budgets needs to take this population distribution into account.

The National Economic Dialogue is a two-day meeting between government and around 140 representatives for interests including business, trade unions, arts, health and agriculture, where each group set out their priorities for Budget 2016.

After submissions from various groups, including an opening address from Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Joan Burton, Minister Coveney highlighted the noticeable absence of rural Ireland from the debate.

“I think I am the first to raise the point that our island is made up of a predominantly rural population”, he said. “Any plan around economic strategy and development needs to focus on regional development as well as urban areas.

“Dublin often tends to dominate commentary on this debate,” the minister added.

Hope for more fiscal measures

Minister Coveney told the Irish Farmers Journal he doesn’t expect the government to undermine any of the agri-taxation measures from the last budget.

“We might even hope to add to it. That agri-taxation review has continued after the last budget and consultations have been ongoing,” he said. “We will obviously look at where we need to tweak and improve things and introduce new measures if that’s what’s needed. But I think [Minister for Finance] Michael Noonan has shown himself to be very farmer- and agriculture-friendly and I don’t expect that to change this year.”

Minister Coveney said the Rural Development Programme, the CAP and a new Food Wise 2025 strategy formed a clear path for agriculture coming up to Budget 2016.

“If we stick to the plan, invest accordingly, we can meet all our targets and even surpass them, which is what happened with Food Harvest 2020,” the Minister said.

The Food Wise 2025 strategy, published on 2 July, sets out a target of growth in agricultural exports by 85% over the next decade to €19 billion.

Asked which areas he would like to focus on in the next budget, Minister Coveney said the priorities were to “maintain momentum, look at how we deal with milk price volatility, encourage long- and medium-term leasing of land and move away from conacre. We need to encourage a new generation to take over farms and we need to focus on farm safety, which is connected to our RDP budget.”

Rural infrastructure

IFA president Eddie Downey also presented at the event, saying the importance of agriculture as a driver of economic growth since the recession is often underestimated.

“Agriculture is worth €10.5 billion in exports, and following the publication of the Food Wise 2025 report we will be seeing this increase,” he said.

Downey also called on the government to prioritise infrastructure in rural Ireland in Budget 2016, especially roads and broadband.

John Comer of the Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association pointed out that the budget for Areas of National Constraint had decreased sharply over the last four years and that it was of “vital importance to the rural economy to keep farming viable in every part of the country, not just fertile areas.”

The meetings continue on Friday and the recommendations made at the Regional and Rural Development session will be available in report format on www.budget.gov.ie early next week.