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The Government has been urged to seek supports from the European Commission to help farmers through the fallout of COVID-19 by both Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin.
The increasing urgency around securing supports for farmers comes following a widespread closure of Europe’s €660bn food service sector, a significant sales channel for agri-food products.
Chief among these closures has been McDonald’s which purchases 40,000t of Irish beef annually and is also a significant user of Irish dairy products.
State aid
Sinn Féin agricultural spokesperson Brian Stanley said state aid rules need to be relaxed and farmers provided with direct financial supports. He said strong market supports for beef prices needed to be put in place.
Sensible decision
Fianna Fáil spokesperson Charlie McConalogue said the closure of restaurants was a sensible decision as public safety is paramount. However, he stressed that Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed needs to engage with the European Commission to support farmers as the crisis worsened.
“Farmers have stood up during this crisis and will be supporting their communities by ensuring their end of the food supply chain is kept running. As the weeks pass with continued restaurant and hotel closures it is important the Government look after beef farmers through European Commission supports,” he said.
Stanley added: “I am urging consumers, factories and retailers to support a 'Buy Irish Campaign' to support Irish businesses and workers.”
"Now more than ever, we need to prioritise the buying of Irish origin products to support our domestic economy. Consumers should buy Irish produce and factories and shops should make it easier to identify Irish origin produce."
Banks
Stanley has also written to Minister Creed asking that pressure be placed on banks and lending institutions to sit down with farmers to reschedule payments and to offer special overdraft facilities.
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