The Fine Gael National Agricultural, Food and Rural Development Forum, (NAFRD) is set to host another regional conference next week focused on the future of farming.
Those in attendance are due to be addressed by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for farm safety, Martin Heydon.
Margaret Kirwan, owner of Goatsbridge Trout Farm and Lorna Sixsmith, dairy farmer and author will also speak at the conference taking place on Thursday, June 22 at 8:00p.m in the Dolmen Hotel in Carlow.
Fine Gael
Established in May 2022, the Fine Gael NAFRD is the party’s forum on agriculture and rural affairs.
The representative body for rural Fine Gael members, comprising 61 delegates nationwide, has already held two regional conferences over the past six months.
The NAFRD is chaired by former president of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), Eddie Downey.
“Rural Ireland is evolving and EU legislation, such as the nitrates, nature restoration and pesticide regulation directives will impact significantly on farmers; they want clarity around how these will impact on their business,” he said.
“Capital Acquisitions Tax and agriculture reliefs also remain firmly on the farming agenda, but stock relief and stamp duty are also emerging as areas where changes could be made.
“We have presented this group’s priority issues to members of the parliamentary party at Leinster House in Dublin.
“The meeting was an important milestone for us and I am encouraged by the responses we received and we’ll be building on that engagement,” Downey said.
“I’m looking forward to a strong turnout for our forthcoming Carlow Regional Conference on June 22nd and would encourage anyone working in farming, agriculture or food production to come and join us for what promises to be a very interesting evening,” he added.