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Members of Dáil Éireann have voted in favour of establishing a crisis fund for the 200 or so farmers along the south coastline and western counties who suffered devastating crop losses in harvest 2016.
On Thursday of last week, members voted on a private members’ motion put forward by Fianna Fáil agriculture spokesman Charlie McConalogue, which called on the Government to establish a crisis support fund to provide direct payments to farmers who were affected by severe crop loss in 2016.
Fianna Fáil said the fund could be created under current EU state aid rules that allow the Government to make available tailored support payments for farmers of up to €15,000 per producer over a three-year period. The Government opposed the motion, but was defeated by 87 votes to 49. However, private members’ motions have no legislative consequence, meaning the Government is under no obligation to implement measures Fianna Fáil called for.
Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has said, however, that he will be convening a second meeting of the tillage forum shortly to “evaluate further measures for the long-term sustainability of the tillage sector”.
Listen to reactions from Minister Creed and other members of the coalition in our podcast below:
Listen to "What next for tillage farmers?" on Spreaker.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, IFA grain chair Liam Dunne said he is “hopeful” that the minister will use the forum as an opportunity to discuss some form of support fund for the farmers affected by last year’s bad weather.
“I am pleased that the minister has said he will be convening a second meeting of the tillage forum, and I am hopeful that he will take that as an opportunity to discuss the possibility of some form of support fund for farmers whose crops were destroyed in 2016,” Dunne said.
“Those tillage farmers are in dire straits now and they need some sort of support so that they can produce a crop in 2017.”
Dunne added that apart from the individual problem with farmers in the west, there is a bigger problem of lack of profitability in the tillage sector generally.
“I am delighted that the tillage forum will be taking place soon as there is a great big job of work to be done and the forum will be an opportunity to discuss all of these issues at the same time,” he said.
Fianna Fáil’s Charlie McConalogue is calling on the minister to convene a meeting of the tillage forum immediately to implement a rescue package.
“The ball is firmly in the minister’s court,” he said. “He cannot continue to take a hands-off approach when farmers’ livelihoods remain in the balance.”
The 2016 grain harvest was a disaster for many grain growers who farm west of a line from Cork city to Donegal. According to an IFA survey of growers, tillage farmers lost more than €4.1m. In all, some 245 farmers lost more than 21,000t of grain and the equivalent of 82,500 round bales of straw.
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