Grey brigade has Brussels on the run

Is the threat to pensioner’s CAP payments receding?

It had been suggested early on in the discussions around the new CAP programme that the Commission was considering a tightening of the rules around who would qualify for payments and that retirees could be targeted in this process.

However, The Dealer sensed a more confident vibe on the matter at the IFA’s CAP information meeting in Claremorris last week. Curtailing direct payments to pensioners was an issue that was “not finding much favour” in Brussels, the meeting heard.

Meanwhile, IFA president Francie Gorman was even more bullish on the matter.

He told farmers that he would be “astonished” if the proposal got legs.

“They may be old and grey, but they’ve still got some sway and some say,” one young lad commented to The Dealer.