Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) president Francie Gorman called on all farmers to only cast their votes for candidates with an understanding of farming issues and who are also willing to enter government after the upcoming general election.

The IFA leader warned that candidates sympathetic to farmers will have little influence on funding and policy if they cannot make it to the next government.

“As farmers, people in rural communities, we have to elect candidates who understand farming and who are willing to stand up for farming and our way of life in rural Ireland,” he said when opening the association’s event in the Curragh on Thursday.

“But to be clear, these people must also be willing to enter government. Being the loudest voice in the crowd is no good.

“We need those influential voices in that room, standing up for ourselves and rural Ireland and when our members meet these candidates and parties during the campaign, they need to make sure they know what we want.

“We are looking to have a strong impact on the next programme for government.”

Following through

The association’s deputy president Alice Doyle told farmers attending that the IFA has heard from some political parties that they understand farmers’ economic viability is pushed.

Doyle pledged to pursue whichever parties form the next government “to see how they can put more money in farmers' pockets”.

The recently-announced review of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) poses an opportunity for candidates to get funds flowing to farmers to make good on election promises, she suggested.

“The review needs to make money available to people and make the scheme workable, because it hasn’t been workable. People have lost money from ACRES, rather than gaining money,” Doyle commented.

Commission

The deputy leader also pointed to the recently-established commission on generational renewal as an initiative which an Taoiseach Simon Harris and Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue can make good on their election pledges to support farmers.

“This better not be a talking shop. My mother used to say ‘you are hearing me, but are you heeding me’. I will be saying [to] the Taoiseach and the Minister that you better be heeding us and not just hearing us,” she continued.

“When that commission is set up, they better come up with some good proposals.”

On the commission itself, Doyle suggested that any proposals to boost generational renewal must focus on providing access to land and an income to young farmers, while also providing a revenue source for the retiring farmer.