IFA president Francie Gorman and an IFA Horticulture delegation met Minister Simon Coveney recently to discuss the staffing crisis in the sector.

Increases in staff costs over the past few months are enormous and have left the horticulture sector in an unsustainable position.

The minimum wage increased by 12% in the budget and the announcement before Christmas on the General Employment permit will result in an initial 31% increase.

The horticulture sector operates on extremely tight margins – wage costs account for between 35% to 42% of variable costs. Any increase has immediate and devastating consequences.

“The fact that Ireland is an outlier – as it is one of the only countries in Europe which does not have a permanent structured work permit scheme – is a key issue here, and we discussed that at large with Minister Coveney,” Francie Gorman said.

“We outlined that the scheme must be fit for purpose for all sub-sectors of horticulture and a steering group needs to be convened without delay to ensure this,” he said.

The IFA Horticulture delegation meeting with Minister Simon Coveney and Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment officials to discuss the staffing crisis in the Irish horticulture sector.

The delegation was very concerned about the lack of meaningful consultation before the proposed new roadmap for General Employment Permits was announced last December.

The revised salary roadmap is unworkable and will have crippling consequences.

For a farm to advertise at €30,000 for new, possibly less-experienced employees would be effectively like setting a new minimum wage for the sector and will likely drive up pay demands for all other existing staff.

The minister must extend the exemption for the horticulture sector on work permit pay rates which has existed for several years.

IFA’s national horticulture chair Mark Walsh said the position of horticulture employers was clearly not considered when Minister Richmond made the shock announcement to massively increase salary levels for work permit employees.

“No meaningful consultation took place with the horticulture sector prior to the increases. Government needs to extend the exemption for the horticulture sector on work permit pay rates which have existed for several years,” Mark Walsh stated.