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The two IFA presidential candidates voiced strong support for coupled beef payments to ensure the sector remains viable at the Irish Farmers Journal live debate.
Laois drystock farmer Francie Gorman stressed that it is not just suckler beef farmers who are reliant on supports to survive, but also those in the dairy-beef sector.
“There needs to be supports for people who are finishing dairy-calf-to-beef systems as well, particularly the finishing end of it as that is where the high costs are involved,” Gorman said.
“We didn’t support coupled payments in Pillar I.
“There may have been a very, very little chance of getting them, but it would have strengthened our argument for payments in Pillar II and we didn’t get that.”
Targeted support
Limerick dairy farmer Martin Stapleton took a strong view that direct payments should be reduced to better allow for the targeting of supports to sectors most in need.
“I personally think that we need to take Pillar I money and focus as much as we possibly can of it on support for vulnerable areas and that is the west of Ireland vulnerable areas, disadvantaged areas, vulnerable sectors,” commented Stapleton.
“Vulnerable sectors clearly include sucklers, beef, sheep,” he said.
When pushed on what this reallocation of funds would do to existing payments, he explained “it means putting less money into the flat per hectare payment”.
Organic split
The candidates diverged on increases to the funding going to the organic farming sector under the new CAP.
Gorman commented that he sees organics as a means of diverting additional funds to suckler farmers, while Stapleton responded that he is “delighted for the farmers that they can access the money”.
He also voiced concerns that after the conversion period, these farmers could depend on a niche market which could collapse with the surge in new volumes.
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