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Clauses that are beginning to appear in the €100m Brexit beef fund have been billed as “a kick in the teeth to suckler farmers” by Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice.
Fitzmaurice said when the fund was announced in the run-up to the local and European elections, details were “few and far between”. However, with the elections now concluded, he said it was convenient that additional clauses had begun to appear.
The representative for Roscommon-Galway slammed suggestions that production would have to be reduced or the beef sector restructured before the fund was distributed to farmers.
Cloak and dagger
Having initially been secured as a Brexit support package, Fitzmaurice said the “cloak and dagger tactics” left doubts as to what other details were being hidden from farmers.
Farmers need to wake up and open their eyes to what is currently going on
“Farmers could be forgiven for thinking that the Minister, the Department and Commissioner Hogan are collaborating to try and finish off the suckler sector in Ireland.
"Farmers need to wake up and open their eyes to what is currently going on,” he said.
Fitzmaurice raised his concerns that Europe could use “bully-boy tactics” to force the measure through.
He strongly stated if that was the case, then Ireland should tell the EU to “stick the €50m where the sun doesn’t shine”.
Roll over
In such an event, Fitzmauirce said funds should be sought internally rather than from the EU.
He said: “Just because half of this €100m fund is set to come from Europe, we do not have to roll over and do what we are told.
“The importance of suckler farming in Ireland cannot be underestimated. There are approximately 34,000 farms involved in suckler farming across Connacht, as well as counties Donegal, Clare and Kerry.
“These farms represent families who have farmed the land for generations and who are part of the backbone of rural Ireland. Without those families, schools, local businesses and entire communities would disappear.”
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