Fianna Fáil wants to “create a new era of security for farmers and the agri-food sector” the Tánaiste said this evening (Friday, April 12) as his party’s 82nd Árd Fheis got underway.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said a key priority for his party is “to secure the future of farming and the agri-food sector as a whole”.
“As well as being our most important national industry, they represent the social and economic heart of rural and provincial Ireland.
“They also ensure food security for Ireland and Europe. In key sectors they produce a remarkable proportion of world supplies of vital food products.
“The uncertainty about the future which many feel is something we are determined to tackle,” the Tánaiste said in his opening address at the Árd Fheis.
He said Fianna Fáil in government had “already implemented a range of new measures to secure fairer prices for food producers”.
The Tánaiste also said it was responding to urgent needs because of the impact of extreme heat and rainfall.”
“But we want to create a new era of security for farmers and the agrifood sector.
“And critically, we are determined to show that we can meet our environmental obligations in a way which still protects this vital sector,” he added.
The Tánaiste highlighted the example of his Fianna Fáil ministers – the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue and Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, working together to develop a “Farming For Water” scheme.
He said this scheme will support 15,000 farmers while they are “improving water quality and reducing pollution while maintaining their output”.
The Fianna Fáil leader added: “This €60 million investment will directly help farmers with planning for change, lifting most of the administrative burden and funding on-farm improvements.
“The scheme is a real partnership between different state agencies and farmers themselves.”
Tánaiste
According to the Tánaiste in one region farmers had funded extra advisers so that the “change can happen faster”.
He also told the Árd Fheis that once the Farming For Water scheme is fully up and running “we should move to extend it nationally and begin a new era of cooperation and support with farmers and the wider rural community”.
“An agrifood sector that is low-carbon, low-pollution which also secures high incomes and a secure food supply – that’s Fianna Fáil’s vision and one we are determined to deliver,” the Tánaiste stated.