Family farms will be protected regardless of the outcome of Brexit negotiations, according to An Tánaiste Simon Coveney.

In an exclusive interview with the Irish Farmers Journal this week, the Tánaiste said: “I can promise you we certainly won’t abandon farmers if Brexit takes a turn for the worse.”

While committed to the view that it is very unlikely that the UK will crash out of the EU next March, Coveney indicated that contingency plans were well advanced at EU level in the event of a hard Brexit – indicating that discussions on the need for financial support for member states had taken place in the context of the next EU budget with Ireland “first in the queue”.

“It is the role of the Irish Government to protect all interests as best we can and farming and agrifood is probably the most vulnerable sector and so is a big part of our contingency planning.”

A European Parliament-commissioned report showed a no-deal Brexit would result in a €5.6bn drop in Irish exports.

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