Farmers now excluded from the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) Scheme must be given the opportunity to make a case for an appeal, according to the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
Following the publication today of the ANC review by the Department of Agriculture, IFA president Joe Healy said that the appeals system will have to give every opportunity for farmers in those areas excluded to make a strong case based on natural handicaps, primarily high rainfall, which impacts on farm income.
Commenting on the overall review, the president welcomed the inclusion of areas that were “unfairly excluded in the past”.
Healy said it is important that the existing classifications, including those for the offshore islands, carry into the new scheme.
The IFA Rural Development chairman Joe Brady said the scheme will be worth €250 million next year, following an increase of €50 million over the last two budgets.
“IFA will be seeking a further increase in the ANC allocation to bring it to €300 million per annum,” Brady said.
IFA Hill Committee chairman Flor McCarthy welcomed the confirmation that 32,000 hill farmers will continue to receive the highest payment.
The Minister for Agriculture must ensure that this situation does not change in the forthcoming CAP 2020 talks, according to the organisation.
The IFA will hold a meeting in the Killeshin Hotel in Portlaoise at 7.30pm tomorrow night (Thursday, November 22) to discuss the outcome of the ANC Review.