Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue and his Department of Agriculture officials have been “disingenuous” in their engagement with sheep farmers on supports for the sector, according to Independent TD Michael Collins.
The Cork politician said that the sheep sector may as well be “shouting into the abyss, as aid requests are ignored”.
“[The Minister] is seeking to create the impression that a lot is being done to assist sheep farmers when the opposite is actually the case,” he said.
Deputy Collins warned that the Minister’s move to sell ACRES as “some kind of financial package for the challenges facing the sheep sector” is infuriating for farmers.
The Independent TD was speaking after he attended a meeting of the Oireachtas agriculture committee on the development of the sheep sector. The meeting was attended by representatives from Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and Sheep Milk Ireland Ltd.
Outlook
Deputy Collins said that despite current income challenges, there is a “resilient and determined momentum toward growth within the Irish sheep sector”.
However, he said that this “cannot be translated into a sustainable or viable economic model for the future in the absence of direct targeted supports”.
Sheep farmers require a support package of €30/ewe, says Deputy Collins. \ Philip Doyle
“There is an abundance of data supporting the call for direct targeted interventions, especially around offering €30/ewe, for example, but that has been sidestepped and consistently ignored.
“Now that the margins for some farmers are down to €7, the case is unanswerable and yet still Government refuse to give an inch,” he added.
Deputy Collins insisted that this approach by Government “must change if the sheep sector is to survive and thrive”.
“The Minister must listen to those who have been warning him about this crisis for some time. If he does not, then the income crisis currently plaguing the sector will continue to deepen and he will have no one to blame but himself for such an appalling lack of action.”
Read more
Sheep price support needed
Harris urges McConalogue to support sheep sector
Brexit funding needed for sheep sector - ICSA
Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue and his Department of Agriculture officials have been “disingenuous” in their engagement with sheep farmers on supports for the sector, according to Independent TD Michael Collins.
The Cork politician said that the sheep sector may as well be “shouting into the abyss, as aid requests are ignored”.
“[The Minister] is seeking to create the impression that a lot is being done to assist sheep farmers when the opposite is actually the case,” he said.
Deputy Collins warned that the Minister’s move to sell ACRES as “some kind of financial package for the challenges facing the sheep sector” is infuriating for farmers.
The Independent TD was speaking after he attended a meeting of the Oireachtas agriculture committee on the development of the sheep sector. The meeting was attended by representatives from Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and Sheep Milk Ireland Ltd.
Outlook
Deputy Collins said that despite current income challenges, there is a “resilient and determined momentum toward growth within the Irish sheep sector”.
However, he said that this “cannot be translated into a sustainable or viable economic model for the future in the absence of direct targeted supports”.
Sheep farmers require a support package of €30/ewe, says Deputy Collins. \ Philip Doyle
“There is an abundance of data supporting the call for direct targeted interventions, especially around offering €30/ewe, for example, but that has been sidestepped and consistently ignored.
“Now that the margins for some farmers are down to €7, the case is unanswerable and yet still Government refuse to give an inch,” he added.
Deputy Collins insisted that this approach by Government “must change if the sheep sector is to survive and thrive”.
“The Minister must listen to those who have been warning him about this crisis for some time. If he does not, then the income crisis currently plaguing the sector will continue to deepen and he will have no one to blame but himself for such an appalling lack of action.”
Read more
Sheep price support needed
Harris urges McConalogue to support sheep sector
Brexit funding needed for sheep sector - ICSA
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: