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THE IRISH FARMERS’ ASSOCIATION (IFA) will stage a protest on Monday morning at Dublin Castle as the EU Commissioner for agriculture and rural development arrives for a meeting on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The IFA has criticised the Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney after a meeting with him in Cork yesterday afternoon following a protest outside the minister’s constituency office.
The association estimated up to 2,000 people from around the country travelled to Cork for the demonstration. Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Henry Burns, who is a farmer in Laois and National Livestock Chair for the IFA, said the association did not receive “a satisfactory answer” from the minister on the issues they raised.
“It was a rough enough meeting,” he said. “In regional meetings, before he even met with argiculture ministers in the EU, he told farmers that proposals would mean no more than an 18 per cent cut to any farmer and he believed he had a good chance of getting this but he didn’t even back his own idea.”
Burns said the proposed changes to the way in which the direct payments to farmers are distributed could mean a 40 or 50 per cent cut for some people. The new payment method would see farmers receive payment based purely on the amount of land they own, as opposed to the level of productivity which is taken into account in the current system.
Your average farmer on 32 hectares of land, some of those would receive around €14,500 but they’re very productive with suckler cows and producing beef and they’re increasing their production. The commissioner’s proposal would go close to taking almost half of that from a person who is by no means a huge farmer. His salary might only be around €14,000 in total so he’d be depending on the payment to keep the farm going and keep up that productivity.
Burns said this will see the most productive farmers losing a significant proportion of their payment as factors like the amount of work they do, the investment they’ve made in buildings or the fertility of the land will not be taken into account.
He said farmers feel that the minister has let them down and is not representing their interests in Europe.
“He seems like a very good communicator and a lot of people would have been proud to have him as minister of agriculture but now it’s time for him to prove himself,” Burns said. “No amount of spinning will explain to a farmer why he goes down 40 per cent and can’t afford to keep going”.
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Trump has killed any future prospects for America. The trust in the US is gone. Regardless of it’s leadership.
@Manni: meloni is a very strong woman and leader. I applaud her.
@Adam H2022: oh yes it will !!! But that’s not going happen. If Europe falls, everyone falls. We might not like the USA at the moment thanks to Trump, but we in the western world are are doomed if we split up.
No-one will pay your dole. Dog eat dog. Old European demons will awaken again.
Be careful of what you wish for.
@Basildon Joe: Thatcher
@offside again: she was a minor demon in European history, probably wouldn’t make top 40
@Oh Mammy: the witch is dead.
No rush….just needs to educate himself first
lol, great picture… ‘those cows are close up, and the other ones are far away’
A 6 time bankruptee is crashing the markets lol hope he gets a third term
@Housing Hunger Games: what’s he worth now? A bit more than you I’d say. So with your logic he knows more than you.
Probably the most astute Prime Minister in the EU. Plays the game.
The comments under Trump articles always remind me of the South Park episode, where it’s revealed that the Family Guy writers are actually manatees, picking random words out of a big pile and putting them together. 90% of comments here will be interchangeable with other Trump articles, might aswell just be unsophisticated bot posts at this point. Uninteresting, generic and pointless comments like “Tango man destroy democracy” “Orange man dumb” “Cheeto man Russian puppet” etc etc… Come on guys, make an effort at least. Try adding some insight or some new material. It’s bloody boring.
@Ekumbe Adesiyan: “They’ve already seen it get much better.” – Living here 38 years and I beg to differ. Most people who were on the fence about voting him in are seriously regretting their decision. It is a daily feed of chaos, and it’s only getting started. He’s not even trying to cover his tracks and has given cart blanche to many unscrupulous individuals. But he controls the media basically and the narrative, and his minions believe every lie. The Presidency has certainly enhanced his bank account and his brand though. Actually made him a real billionaire, many times over.
@POC: If he controls the media, then why is the vast majority of coverage about him negative? Wouldn’t he make them say nice things?
@Ekumbe Adesiyan: Dont be silly, he controls the media in the USA (ie will exclude any network that asks questions).
A prominent professor of history in the US said recently that it took Hitler nearly 10 years to do what Trump has done already.
@king kong: Absolute nonsense comment in every respect. I don’t even know where to start with that beauty.
@king kong: ah Hitler! History teacher said…. Blah blah. Actually Hitler was a national socialist, hated landlords, capitalists and anyone who made money from investments. Supported Palestinians (Mufti of Jerusalem) and as for Jews…. Totally the opposite of Trump. That doesn’t make Trump a good guy, but the comparison with Hitler is wrong.
@Ekumbe Adesiyan: What media sources in the US are you referring to? CNN, MSNBC don’t carry nearly the weight of Fox, X and Truth Social, and even Facebook for that matter. It’s all thing Trump over here. If you’re not on board you’re the enemy, unpatriotic, un American.
I came here during the Reagan term , when the Presidency was respected by default – regardless of policy mistakes and differences. I was shocked when Bush Snr wasn’t re-elected, Clinton was a good President , though his 2 terms were spent defending himself against a merciless vendetta. If not for 9-11, Bush Jnr would have been jettisoned – though I do believe he is a humanitarian. Obama was hated because he was black – simple as. Biden’s record will stand the test of time. I would take any of them again above the current imposter. He will go down as one of the worst to occupy the White House. He IS, a criminal. If you have any solid refutes to my opinions, please share.
A balloon
Thank you Mr Trump
Because your actions have decreased my mortgage repayments
That’s something real for.me
Rather than than all the bluster and lies from FFG
Amazing that , an American can get me to keep more cash in my account
Trump prob thinks Italy love him because of their great great leader Mussolini
A chuckle of clowns
@Ian McDonald: a gang of weasels.
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