Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has committed to announce the amount of national co-financing for Pillar II schemes in the next CAP next week, Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) president Tim Cullinan has said.

Cullinan led an IFA delegation to meet the Minister on Friday morning.

“The meeting was a full and frank exchange of views. We left the Minister in no doubt about the depth of feeling amongst farmers about the current direction of Government policy towards farming.

“The Minister gave a commitment that he would be coming forward with a budget including national co-financing for CAP Pillar II schemes, including targeted support for suckler, sheep and tillage farmers, within the next week,” he said.

Carbon budgets

The Minister also advised the IFA that the Government would be announcing Ireland’s carbon budgets and sectoral emissions ceilings shortly.

“These are two massive decisions for the future of Irish farming. Minister McConalogue’s tenure will be judged on how the Government delivers on these two issues.

“Our protests last Friday showed that farmer anger on the ground is building. The Government must take this message on-board. Farmers and the agri-sector are the backbone of the rural economy and we won’t be sacrificed to pacify the Green Party,” he said.