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In their pre-budget submission the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) said they had a ‘positive’ meeting with Minister Michael Creed.
Budget wishlist
The organisation, which represent 5,000 farmers on marginalised, hill and designated land, outlined to the Minister what they’d like to see in the 2018 budget,
- €25m in additional Area of National Constraint funding
- €25m committed to the Sheep Welfare Scheme
- Investment to establish a market outlet for hill farm
- Assurance that farmers who experience weather related hardship receive timely compensation
The INHFA put special emphasis on the ANC rates of payment and referenced information from the Central Statistics Office, which highlighted a ‘massive difference’ between Mountain Sheep Grazing (MSG) and Lowland more severely handicapped areas.
Farm safety
President of the INHFA Colm O’Donnell, also submitted proposals on the need to implement farm safety policies to deal with the high number of fatalities and accidents on farms, and highlighted the issue of increased rural crime.
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