Following the announcement of Budget 2019, one farm group is of the opinion that the Government “does not understand the scale of the challenges being faced by the farming sector”.
This is clear in terms of a lack of regard for the 50% fall in income predicted for this current year or the transformational challenges that could follow Brexit next March, according to the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA).
Challenges
President of the ICMSA Pat McCormack said that farm families can only conclude that the Government has decided that it doesn’t want to support them.
The ICMSA president said he was reluctant to come to this position, but it was the only logical conclusion to arrive at based on today’s budget.
Introducing new schemes with more conditions and more inspections – along with tweaks of existing schemes – won’t solve the massive underlying problems and is simply “throwing shapes” rather than providing real solutions for the farming community, he contended.
The biggest single-issue facing family farms is income volatility and, as sole traders, the taxation system absolutely hammers farmers trying to make a living in an extremely volatile global food market.
“The ICMSA and others have consistently highlighted this fact and the Government has acknowledged the problem,” McCormack said.
“As a matter of fact, Minister Creed acknowledged this following the last two budgets and it is extremely disappointing that he has failed yet again to deliver for farm families on this matter.
‘Big business’
“We have corporate structures in Ireland and “big business” paying effective tax rates of 1% – and yet our Government cannot bring in a simple measure to assist farm families to establish a volatility fund under the supervision of the Revenue Commissioners that could be utilised for difficult years.
“One would now have to question at this stage the level of priority that agriculture is getting around the Cabinet table and this should be a matter of concern for everyone in rural Ireland,” said the ICMSA president.
The Government has a choice, either support the family farm structure or, in all honesty, tell these farm families that it is going in a different direction.
“In not introducing an income volatility measure in the Budget, the Government has actually given its answer to that choice, but, out of courtesy if nothing else, it should announce it as Government policy,” McCormack concluded.