Dara Calleary, the new Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, has the weight of farmer expectations on him as he takes office.

The Mayo TD, appointed on Wednesday following Barry Cowen’s sacking the previous evening, will be expected to deliver on several fronts.

The €50m beef fund, a new REPS scheme and fighting for farmers in the CAP budget will be his most urgent tasks.

Announcing his appointment, Taoiseach Micheál Martin listed the priorities of Calleary’s new position as “Brexit, COVID-19, climate change, the future CAP negotiations and the multi-annual financial framework (MFF)”.

The Taoiseach asserted that “maintaining the CAP budget will be our top priority” when establishing the budget for Europe for the next seven years. That would require more funding from member states than what has been committed to so far.

Irish farmers will also be looking for a large chunk of the €5bn Brexit fund.

Farmers react

The Ballina man’s appointment will be seen as a boost for farmers in the west. “It is important that the new minister hits the ground running,” IFA president Tim Cullinan stressed.

“We look forward to working with him to ensure that we harness the full potential of our farming sector.”