The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has announced the election of a new vice-chairperson of its Animal Health Committee.
Amanda Mooney, from Co. Wicklow, will step into the role, the association announced today (Friday, April 29).
Mooney succeeds TJ Maher from South Tipperary IFA, who moved up to the role of chairperson in January following his own election, succeeding Pat Farrell.
The new vice-chair has been a member of committee since 2019.
Speaking after the announcement of her elevation to the role, Mooney said that a “key priority” of hers will be controlling wildlife, including addressing the problems associated with the deer population in the pursuit of the eradication of TB.
“The Animal Health Committee deals with a wide range of issues that impact directly on farmers and their livelihoods,” the Co. Wicklow farmer commented.
She added: “I’m looking forward to working with the chairperson and the committee in advancing theses issues by bringing the views of farmers to the discussions with the relevant agencies and government departments.”
In other IFA-related news, the association said this week that existing payment arrangements and the proposals in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan for designated land are “inadequate“.
The association claims that they don’t address the issue of loss of income and the devaluation of land values.
IFA Hill Committee chairperson Cáillin Conneely said yesterday: “Restrictions due to designations are responsible for income loss.
“They impose additional costs on farmers and in many case make it difficult to meet cross compliance requirements,” he added.
At a meeting of the Designated Areas Monitoring Committee this week, which was attended by Minister of State for heritage Malcolm Noonan, Conneely said that the reintroduction of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Farm Plan Scheme was a “positive first step”.
“However, greater funding is needed to expand the number of farm plans on the scheme, with increased payment rates to reflect the additional costs and burden on farmers whose land is designated,” he said.