The decision by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to extend the consultation period for submissions to the CAP consultation process by one week has been welcomed by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), which says the previous deadline was “too tight”.
Commenting on the department’s decision, which was announced yesterday (Wednesday, August 18), IFA president Tim Cullinan said:
“There are many aspects of the proposals which are unacceptable and IFA will be making a comprehensive submission in consultation with our committees.
“However, we need time to debate the issues around this CAP [Common Agricultural Policy] reform, which will have significant ramifications for the incomes of farmers.”
Describing the initial closing date of Friday week (August 27) as “far too tight”, Cullinan added:
“The department has made the correct decision to extend the deadline to give more time for proper consideration.
“We want to have extensive dialogue with our membership before we make our submission,” the president said.
The new deadline for the CAP consultation process will now fall on Friday, September 3. At the recent CAP “town hall” meetings held last week, Department of Agriculture officials encouraged farmers dissatisfied with the proposed schemes to put in a formal submission during the consultation period.