Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) president Francie Gorman has told Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tánaiste Micheál Martin that the state must be “on red alert” to ensure bluetongue virus does not enter this country.
Gorman met with both leaders separately today (Tuesday, September 10) to discuss several short term and longer term challenges in the agriculture sector.
Speaking to Agriland after that meeting, he said that bluetongue was one of the main issues that arose. Gorman confirmed that the IFA will be meeting with the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) on Friday (September 13) to talk about the virus, which has occurred in a number of outbreaks in England.
“On the bluetongue issue currently, we’re meeting with the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) on Friday on it, and we flagged (to the Taoiseach and Tánaiste) the need for the state to be on absolute red alert to deal with this if there was any danger of this coming in in any shape or form.
Apart from bluetongue, other short term measures Gorman raised in the meeting revolved around Budget 2025, calling for support for vulnerable sectors, namely beef, sheep and tillage.
“I think there is an acceptance by everybody that supports are absolutely needed for the tillage sector this year more than ever,” he said.
Gorman added: “We have to get the €300 for the sucker cow, the €30 for the ewe, the €100/head calf rearing scheme, and an increase in the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) payment. They’re all big issues we flagged, plus a continuation of the tax reliefs that we have on farm level.
“Without them being put in place, succession is a huge issue. Unless you support the farms we have today, that they’re viable, there’s not much point in incentivising the next generation to come back into a business that is unviable.”
On more longer term issues, the meetings between Gorman and the Taoiseach and Tánaiste also touched on the Nature Restoration Law (NRL).
According to Gorman, farmers wanted “full consultation” on the how the law is implemented, and that any measures would have to be voluntary.
“If you were farming in an area affected by the (NRL) and you wanted to drive on your farm…than you should have the wherewithal to develop your farm as you see fit, to be able to make a living for your family,” he told Agriland.
On the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Gorman called for a viable CAP budget focused on food production, and he questioned the current CAP payment model of ‘costs incurred/income forgone’ under Pillar II schemes, saying this model “is itself a cut of a different sort”.
“Or government needs to lead a campaign with other heads of state, and ministers for foreign affairs and finance, at European level, to ensure that everybody contributes more to the CAP budget. The ambitions we have today cannot be delivered with current budget levels,” the IFA president said.
And on the nitrates derogation, Gorman stressed the point of the potential economic damage from losing the derogation.
“At the end of the day, while farmers have to show that they’re doing their damnedest and doing the most they can to improve water quality…it shouldn’t just be about water quality. It should be about economic survivability, and that there has to be a financial impact assessment done before any decision is taken on it,” he said.