Current IFA environment chair.A dairy and beef farmer from Cavan on 140 acres on four different blocks. Married to Olivia, with daughters Ellen and Hannah. “I want to restore pride into all sectors of farming. Like every farmer in Ireland, I want to earn a decent income and to hand over a viable farm to my children.
“As environment chair, we’ve had delivery of the Nitrates Directive (derogation) renewal, stopped tractor testing and we stopped the Citizens’ assembly carbon tax proposal.
“We need to connect better with farmers. We need more sector-specific meetings and better use of social media, such as WhatsApp, Twitter and other platforms.
“I’d be very happy to work alongside whichever of the presidential candidates is successful, as I’ve worked with the current president in my present position. On the board of Teagasc, I’d ensure that all sectors of agriculture develop equally, and research and innovation is put into beef, sheep, tillage and not just the dairy sector. We need the full implementation of the Teagasc climate roadmap. At present, we are just focusing on the carbon footprint. We must develop the renewable and carbon sequestration sectors as well.
“There will be a new charter of rights. All farmers must be paid on time, regardless of whether an inspection is pending. I’ve farmers ringing me every day with payments held up, looking for help. Coming from a medium-sized farm I would be very dependent on CAP. We need workable schemes, a good Pillar II scheme. No farmer must take a cut in payments.”
Current IFA environment chair.A dairy and beef farmer from Cavan on 140 acres on four different blocks. Married to Olivia, with daughters Ellen and Hannah. “I want to restore pride into all sectors of farming. Like every farmer in Ireland, I want to earn a decent income and to hand over a viable farm to my children.
“As environment chair, we’ve had delivery of the Nitrates Directive (derogation) renewal, stopped tractor testing and we stopped the Citizens’ assembly carbon tax proposal.
“We need to connect better with farmers. We need more sector-specific meetings and better use of social media, such as WhatsApp, Twitter and other platforms.
“I’d be very happy to work alongside whichever of the presidential candidates is successful, as I’ve worked with the current president in my present position. On the board of Teagasc, I’d ensure that all sectors of agriculture develop equally, and research and innovation is put into beef, sheep, tillage and not just the dairy sector. We need the full implementation of the Teagasc climate roadmap. At present, we are just focusing on the carbon footprint. We must develop the renewable and carbon sequestration sectors as well.
“There will be a new charter of rights. All farmers must be paid on time, regardless of whether an inspection is pending. I’ve farmers ringing me every day with payments held up, looking for help. Coming from a medium-sized farm I would be very dependent on CAP. We need workable schemes, a good Pillar II scheme. No farmer must take a cut in payments.”
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