Members of Macra are getting ready for a 16-hour walk through the night, taking them from Athy, Co. Kildare to government buildings on Merrion Square in the heart of Dublin.
Macra members will depart from Athy at approximately 6:00p.m this evening (Tuesday, April 25), taking a 79km route to their destination.
Macra was founded in the Co. Kildare town in 1944.
Speaking ahead of the walk, outgoing Macra president John Keane said: “Our message is clear. We want a future for rural Ireland.
“We want our rural communities to survive and thrive into the future. We are walking for our future and for the future of our local communities.”
The young farmers association has written to all TDs and senators asking them to join Macra on the walk, or to meet them at government buildings at 1:00p.m tomorrow (Wednesday, April 26).
Macra president-elect Elaine Houlihan, who will take over the reins of the association at its annual general meeting (AGM) on May 13, commented: “We are taking steps for our future, to ensure young people [and] families can live and prosper in rural Ireland, as the youth are the backbone of these communities.”
The purpose of this demonstration, Macra said, is to highlight eight “key issues”.
These issues are:
- Access to affordable housing and “cumbersome” housing planning guidelines;
- “Disjointed and sparce” healthcare services for rural communities;
- The government’s definition of a “family farm”;
- “No recognition or engagement” by government on a farming succession scheme;
- Lack of planning for the future of rural communities;
- Imposition of “quotas” on young farmers availing of grant aid support;
- Lack of public transport for rural Ireland;
- Proposals to rewet large areas of rural Ireland.
Macra said that it will be “coming with solutions” to these issues, and will deliver these to the offices of the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste tomorrow when its members arrive in Dublin.
Keane said that anyone who wishes to join the walk is welcome.