Aontú representative for East Cork Paddy Scully, has called for action to address the inflation crisis in the agricultural sector, including an immediate pause on the carbon tax.
Speaking this week, Scully said that increases in the carbon tax against the backdrop of rising input costs and an inflation crisis is not appropriate.
“We cannot saddle hard working people and farmers in rural Ireland with additional taxes. Now is not the time,” he said.
Scully said that if the issues around inflation within agriculture are not addressed, they will spill over into wider society and create serious problems in the longer term, such as food insecurity.
“The government must, as a matter of urgency, work to assist farmers and to encourage our own native agricultural economy at this difficult time,” he said.
“We cannot have a situation in a year or two where people are going hungry or where food has to be rationed due to government inaction.”
With an increase of approximately 130% in the cost of fertiliser over the course of a year, “farmers are now on their knees” according to Scully.
While these cost increases are largely due to external factors such as geopolitical events, Scully said there is still room for government action to offset the impact of these price rises.
“The government cannot blame the invasion for all the problems facing farmers, fertiliser costs had been sky rocketing long before the war. There needs to be immediate intervention to tackle the inflation crisis. Otherwise we will see a ripple effect here,” Scully explained.
Referring to food security, Scully said that Aontú party leader Peadar Tóíbín has asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine about plans to develop food security in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, Scully said “we’ve never received a straight answer, just waffle”.
“At the next election the people will remember that while rural Ireland was collapsing under inflation all the government did was to advise us to have shorter showers, to drive slower, and to stop selling turf.
“The entire cabinet should come down to Cork to see how we live here, to meet local farmers, and educate themselves on the situation,” Scully concluded.