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An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has given no commitment that low-cost loans will be made available to farmers this year.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal at the opening of new feed mill in Drinagh Co-op last week, the Taoiseach suggested that farmers wanted to wait to see “the shape” of Brexit, before having access to the loans.
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“We have to plan for the future on a rational basis and we’re always saying to businesses and farmers that they need to prepare for Brexit but they say back to us, very reasonably, that we don’t yet know exactly what Brexit means and the shape of Brexit,” Varadkar told the Irish Farmers Journal.
Low-cost loans were announced in Budget 2018 last October, with €25m set aside as seed money to leverage the scheme. There was an expectation that farmers would be able to avail of the loans during 2018 but to date this hasn’t been the case.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture Andrew Doyle, told a Macra na Feirme event in Kilkenny on 23 July that the date for the announcement of the loans had been changed.
“I was told it [loan scheme] was 1 July. That’s come and gone. Now I’ve been told September but I can’t guarantee that,” Minister Doyle said.
Details
The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI), is working with the Department of Agriculture to deliver details of the scheme.
A spokesperson for the Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed told the Irish Farmers Journal that every move is being made to deliver the best loan product possible.
“The minister has personally met with the SBCI on several occasions including two formal sit down meetings in recent times. The challenge is to deliver a product that is not ordinarily available in the marketplace at present,” the spokesperson said.
Farmers have expressed upset at the delay in the roll-out of loans, with cashflow tight on many farms after two extreme weather event this year and the additional financial concern of preparing for Brexit.
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