A long-awaited scheme to support the ‘forgotten farmers’ is set to be unveiled by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine once the final go ahead is secured from the Department of Public Expenditure.
There are an estimated 4,000 farmers who lost out on vital farmer supports due to cuts in public expenditure by the government following the last recession.
The forgotten farmers had typically set up their agricultural holdings before 2008 and were under 40 in 2015 but did not qualify for Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) supports.
There have been repeated commitments from both the current minister, Charlie McConalogue and the previous Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, that the plight of this group of farmers would be addressed by government.
Back in 2016 Creed told the Dáil that the programme for partnership government at the time contained a commitment to “pursue the category of forgotten farmers at EU level”.
While McConalogue in May of this year told the Dáil that the current programme for government contains a commitment “to seek to resolve the issue of support for the forgotten farmers”.
“I am committed to helping this cohort of farmers and I will bring forward proposals as soon as possible,” the minister told the Dáil in May.
Announcement expected on scheme for ‘forgotten farmers’
Now nearly six months later McConalogue has confirmed he is “nearing an announcement” on these proposals.
The minister told members of the young farmer and rural youth organisation, Macra, that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will shortly announce a scheme that will support farmers who:
- Did not benefit from installation aid;
- Were aged no more than 40 in 2015;
- Had required the level 6 qualification by 2015;
- Had submitted Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application in 2015;
- Did not benefit previously under the national reserve in BPS or Single Payment Scheme (SPS) under any category;
- Had set up as head of agricultural holding before 2008.
Speaking at the recent Macra annual conference in Co. Tipperary, McConalogue said that further details about the scheme including application procedures, will be announced in the “coming weeks”.
But the minister has also cautioned that this is “subject” to further negotiations with the Department of Public Expenditure.
According to John Keane, president of Macra, the organisation has continually spoken out on behalf of the forgotten farmers “to seek the support which they fairly deserve”.
McConalogue has acknowledged that many of the farmers in this group are in their current position “through no fault of their own”.
“This has been a longstanding commitment of mine and a real crusade that I led in order to support this group of young farmers who have had to develop a farming career, in some instances, with one arm tied behind their back.”
The minister told Macra members he was glad that “we are reaching an endpoint” on the issues that have impacted these farmers.