The eyes of rural Ireland will be very much focused on three of the most senior figures in the Fine Gael party when budget 2020 is announced on Tuesday – Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste Simon Coveney and newly appointed European Commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan. Over the past 12 to 16 months, all have repeatedly reassured farmers that the commitment exists within Government and the European Commission to ensure Irish farmers are not left carrying the financial burden of a no-deal Brexit.
The eyes of rural Ireland will be very much focused on three of the most senior figures in the Fine Gael party when budget 2020 is announced on Tuesday – Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste Simon Coveney and newly appointed European Commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan.
Over the past 12 to 16 months, all have repeatedly reassured farmers that the commitment exists within Government and the European Commission to ensure Irish farmers are not left carrying the financial burden of a no-deal Brexit.
All three should be under no illusions – farmers will view budget 2020 as delivery time.
Severe impact
In an interview with the Irish Farmers Journal in July 2018, while still hopeful then that a no-deal Brexit would be avoided, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: “If we end up in a no-deal scenario or a hard Brexit scenario, and this is very much hypothetical, the impact on farming, on small exporting businesses and on agri food could be very severe."
In this scenario, he said, “we would need transition funds to help the agri food industry and farms to adapt to the new arrangements, we would need to apply for State-aid and that is understood across the European Union, but that’s not what we should be aiming for”.
Three months later, in an interview with the Irish Farmers Journal in September, Tánaiste Simon Coveney reconfirmed the Government’s commitment in this regard, stating that: “I can promise you we certainly won’t abandon farmers if Brexit takes a turn for the worse”.
Protect farmers
More recently, in March 2019, speaking at the Irish Farmers Journal Navigating Global Trade conference, Fine Gael party colleague and then European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan reassured farmers that the European Commission stood ready to protect farmers in a no-deal Brexit.
When asked if he could give farmers assurances that the European Commission would put in place the tools that would nullify the impact of tariffs into the UK, Commissioner Hogan said: “That’s exactly what our intention is”.
That’s exactly what our intention is
“We are confident that we will have the necessary tools to help our farmers in our market situation as well as in our income situation”.
In the words of Tánaiste Simon Coveney, clearly Brexit has taken “a turn for the worse”.
When Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe stands up in the Dáil to announce details of budget 2020, the agricultural sector will be just 23 days away from a cliff-edge Brexit that all accept will deliver one of the greatest economic shocks to farm incomes and rural communities for generations.
Comforting words
The time for comforting words from both the Government and European Commission is clearly over. It is time for the strong and unequivocal commitments of the past to now be deliver upon through solid actions.
The Government should be under no illusions that farmers are expecting these solid actions to be front and centre next Tuesday when the details of budget 2020 are announced.
Just 23 days from a no-deal Brexit, it would simply not be credible for budget 2020, which Minister Donohoe has stated is being framed around a no-deal Brexit scenario, not to contain a range of detailed measures that the Government and EU will implement to protect farm incomes and underpin the economic vibrancy in rural Ireland.
The time has come for action and farmers expect to see this next Tuesday
Standing ready to support farmers is no longer good enough. The time has come for action and farmers expect to see this next Tuesday.
Ahead of a possible general election in 2020, the Government should be fully aware that budget overruns in the health department will not be tolerated as justification for inaction, and attempts to repackage commitments already made will not be forgotten by a farming community who, as we have seen in recent weeks, are already questioning this Government's commitment to agriculture and rural Ireland.
It is time for action. Simply standing ready to support farmers is no longer good enough.
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