Sinn Féin launched its general election manifesto in Dublin this Tuesday and set out to make rural Ireland “a place where the quality of life is matched by the quality of services”. The party promises to end the retrospective penalties on farming.
“We want the full and immediate implementation of the charter of rights for farmers and to cut the red tape and lengthy delays in payments,” said Mayo county councillor Rose Conway-Walsh, speaking at the launch of Sinn Féin’s general election manifesto.
“In the Young Farmers Scheme, farmers are still waiting for payments that were due to them in December. But no doubt those payments will be paid when it suits the Government on the days running up to the election. That’s no good to those young farmers when they are waiting to pay bills in December and they still haven’t got their money.”
Listen to an extract from Rose Conway-Walsh’s speech in our podcast below:
The manifesto puts a strong emphasis on farming in the west of the country and carries the hashtag #anewdeal4thewest. However, it does not mention the popular agri-environmental scheme GLAS. More than 14,000 farmers applied for the GLAS II scheme by the December closing date at the end of 2015, and 26,000 applied for GLAS I last year, with farming organisations calling on politicians to allow more farmers into the scheme.
Key points for farmers from the Sinn Féin manifesto include:
Implement the charter of rights for farmers to ensure the efficient and speedy delivery of direct payments.Establish a €12m compensation fund for hen harrier designated conservation lands.Maintain the concept of income averaging for taxation purposes to compensate farmers for extreme income volatility.Work for the simplification of the Beef Data and Genomics Programme.Publish clear guidelines for farmers applying for ANC payments to avoid long waiting periods.Oppose the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).Establish an all-Ireland food label for Irish produce.Reintroduce the Groceries Order with immediate effect to combat below-cost selling of products.Restore €5m of Farm Assist funds and create an additional 500 places on the Rural Social Scheme.While the manifesto supports an increased short-term intervention price for milk, it fails to mention the pig sector where farmers currently face the lowest margins since 1999.
Rural Ireland
In addressing the imbalance between urban and rural Ireland, Sinn Féin said it is committed to keeping open post offices, libraries, garda stations and other services that connect people with their local towns.
“People don’t feel safe in communities and homes and that has to be rectified,” said party leader Gerry Adams.
The manifesto also sets out to ensure the retention of turf-cutting rights for families in the west of Ireland as well as making the west the “e-commerce focal point of Ireland” by striving to achieve 100Mbps broadband speed across the country.
Read more
Full coverage: general election 2016
Sinn Féin launched its general election manifesto in Dublin this Tuesday and set out to make rural Ireland “a place where the quality of life is matched by the quality of services”. The party promises to end the retrospective penalties on farming.
“We want the full and immediate implementation of the charter of rights for farmers and to cut the red tape and lengthy delays in payments,” said Mayo county councillor Rose Conway-Walsh, speaking at the launch of Sinn Féin’s general election manifesto.
“In the Young Farmers Scheme, farmers are still waiting for payments that were due to them in December. But no doubt those payments will be paid when it suits the Government on the days running up to the election. That’s no good to those young farmers when they are waiting to pay bills in December and they still haven’t got their money.”
Listen to an extract from Rose Conway-Walsh’s speech in our podcast below:
The manifesto puts a strong emphasis on farming in the west of the country and carries the hashtag #anewdeal4thewest. However, it does not mention the popular agri-environmental scheme GLAS. More than 14,000 farmers applied for the GLAS II scheme by the December closing date at the end of 2015, and 26,000 applied for GLAS I last year, with farming organisations calling on politicians to allow more farmers into the scheme.
Key points for farmers from the Sinn Féin manifesto include:
Implement the charter of rights for farmers to ensure the efficient and speedy delivery of direct payments.Establish a €12m compensation fund for hen harrier designated conservation lands.Maintain the concept of income averaging for taxation purposes to compensate farmers for extreme income volatility.Work for the simplification of the Beef Data and Genomics Programme.Publish clear guidelines for farmers applying for ANC payments to avoid long waiting periods.Oppose the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).Establish an all-Ireland food label for Irish produce.Reintroduce the Groceries Order with immediate effect to combat below-cost selling of products.Restore €5m of Farm Assist funds and create an additional 500 places on the Rural Social Scheme.While the manifesto supports an increased short-term intervention price for milk, it fails to mention the pig sector where farmers currently face the lowest margins since 1999.
Rural Ireland
In addressing the imbalance between urban and rural Ireland, Sinn Féin said it is committed to keeping open post offices, libraries, garda stations and other services that connect people with their local towns.
“People don’t feel safe in communities and homes and that has to be rectified,” said party leader Gerry Adams.
The manifesto also sets out to ensure the retention of turf-cutting rights for families in the west of Ireland as well as making the west the “e-commerce focal point of Ireland” by striving to achieve 100Mbps broadband speed across the country.
Read more
Full coverage: general election 2016
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