Taoiseach Enda Kenny has assured farmers across Ireland that all monies available under the new CAP Rural Development Programme will be drawn down by Ireland. This is according to IFA President John Bryan who had a constructive meeting with the Taoiseach earlier this week.
The IFA President said it was hugely important the Government provides 50:50 co-financing and to ensure matching funding with national top ups so that there is a strong Rural Development Programme available to support vulnerable sectors and regions.
Bryan highlighted the need for additional national support for the livestock sector in particular and targeted investment to ensure that the Food Harvest 2020 targets are achieved.
At the think-in with the Taoiseach, John Bryan highlighted the importance of farming and agri-food sector to economic activity and jobs and presented the IFA’s pre-Budget submission ‘Investing in Agriculture for Economic Growth’.
He highlighted the importance of retaining key tax reliefs for agriculture in the upcoming budget and ensuring that the productive sector is not burdened with additional income taxes.
He also raised other key issues for the sector, including concern on upcoming trade deals with Canada and the US, the need for retailer regulation, the availability and costs of bank finance for farm families and the need to improve business competitiveness by reducing Government related costs.