If the EU’s fertiliser supports were to make any difference, they must be directed to those farmers who had purchased fertiliser at high prices, Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) president Denis Drennan has said.

He was also adamant that the headroom for national funding to top up the supports provided by the EU package must also be utilised by the Irish Government.

“The funds being provided are demonstrably inadequate and this cannot be a case of one for everyone in the audience. The funding must be reserved for the farmers who purchased - or will be forced to purchase - at high prices."

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Opportunity

He said that the Irish Government must take the opportunity and follow the EU lead by availing of the opportunity to top up the supports being provided to affected farmers.

“There’s no need to reinvent the wheel here; if we just identify those farmers who have already purchased at higher prices and who are in the process of purchasing at higher prices, then hopefully we will be able to give a level of support that will make a real difference, rather than the kind of token gesture that the current level of funding suggests," Drennan said.