The outgoing Government has performed generally either ‘fair’ or ‘good’ for farmers, according to the majority of farmers surveyed on behalf of the Irish Farmers Journal.

The data shows that 39% of participants rated the current Government as ‘fair’ in terms of actions for farmers. Meanwhile, 31% rated them as ‘good’ and 30% rated them as ‘poor’, including 13% who said ‘very poor.’

The general consensus among each farming sector was positive.

With beef prices continuing to rise, cattle finishers had the highest proportion of positive answers (36%), including 5% of respondents who described the Government’s actions as ‘excellent’.

Despite the lack of a farm retirement scheme, farmers over the age of 60 still seemed most pleased with the Government, with 42% (407 farmers) giving the coalition a positive rating compared to only 20% of 18- to 25-year-old farmers feeling the same way.

Leinster farmers (34%) followed by Connacht farmers (30%) had the most positive responses to the administration.

Munster farmers were at the other end of the scale, with 16% describing their performance as ‘very poor’.