Macra has said that a situation where some forgotten farmers are “left out for a second time” from funding would be “ludicrous”.
It comes after Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon announced the opening of the Long-Established Young Farmers Scheme for what are commonly known as forgotten farmers to receive a payment capped at €5,000, dependent on successful applications.
However, some farmers and farm organisations have voiced criticisms of the scheme, which they said is lacking sufficient funding and unfairly excludes some farmers due to when they became the owner of a farm or when they received their level six education.
In a statement to the Irish Farmers Journal, Macra national president Josephine O’Neill said every forgotten farmer needs to receive the nominal sum of supports that they have missed out on since 2008.
“Every effort must be made by the Minister to ensure that all forgotten farmers are catered for under the new scheme and I would encourage all forgotten farmers to apply,” she said.
Excluded
The forgotten farmers are a group of farmers who lost out following the removal of young farmer supports such as installation aid and TAMS grants because of cuts in public expenditure by the Government following the last recession.
“For more than a decade, Macra has actively highlighted and been involved in discussions around the forgotten farmers and has made countless submissions in relation to the plight of these farmers,” added O’Neill.
“It is unfortunate that the Department of Agriculture didn’t consult with farm organisations on the final design of the scheme.”
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Macra has said that a situation where some forgotten farmers are “left out for a second time” from funding would be “ludicrous”.
It comes after Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon announced the opening of the Long-Established Young Farmers Scheme for what are commonly known as forgotten farmers to receive a payment capped at €5,000, dependent on successful applications.
However, some farmers and farm organisations have voiced criticisms of the scheme, which they said is lacking sufficient funding and unfairly excludes some farmers due to when they became the owner of a farm or when they received their level six education.
In a statement to the Irish Farmers Journal, Macra national president Josephine O’Neill said every forgotten farmer needs to receive the nominal sum of supports that they have missed out on since 2008.
“Every effort must be made by the Minister to ensure that all forgotten farmers are catered for under the new scheme and I would encourage all forgotten farmers to apply,” she said.
Excluded
The forgotten farmers are a group of farmers who lost out following the removal of young farmer supports such as installation aid and TAMS grants because of cuts in public expenditure by the Government following the last recession.
“For more than a decade, Macra has actively highlighted and been involved in discussions around the forgotten farmers and has made countless submissions in relation to the plight of these farmers,” added O’Neill.
“It is unfortunate that the Department of Agriculture didn’t consult with farm organisations on the final design of the scheme.”
Read more
Eligibility issues raised with forgotten farmer scheme
Forgotten farmers scheme opens for applications
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