An Irish MEP has called for young farmers taking over family farms to be given “all the support available”.

Sinn Féin MEP Chris MacManus was speaking after he visited Mountbellew Agricultural College in Co. Galway recently, where he met with with principal Edna Curley “to discuss the issues facing young farmers”.

“Since we always speak about the family farm, it can sometimes be forgotten that farms are businesses that must be ran efficiently and be profitable,” MacManus said after the meeting.

“Taking over a farm is a huge responsibility on their shoulders and they need all the support available. I deeply admire their sense of commitment. That commitment must be rewarded.”

The Ireland Midlands-Northwest MEP cited the issues of access to credit; debt; mental health; and the full time versus part-time divide as being the most significant problems for those farmers taking over holdings.

“Young farmers do need access to credit and as much support as possible to manage their debt levels. Particularly in the dairy sector, the level of investment required to get to scale is in the hundreds of thousands,” he highlighted.

MacManus stressed that taking on such large debt, as well as the difficulty in achieving good work-life balance, can “take its toll on people’s mental health”.

The MEP said that he “disagreed with the mixed messages that have been sent by the Irish government” on the future of full-time farmers.

“We should be tackling farm viability in order to guarantee young farmers can have a fair standard of living from full-time farming, not just for dairy farmers but also beef,” MacManus argued.

He concluded: “It’s important to remember that many farmers with off-farm income, who some assume are part-time farmers, are actually putting in 40 hours plus to the farm, but still can’t make ends meet without an additional income source.”