IFA presses for Rural Development Plan amendments

A DELEGATION led by IFA Deputy President Richard Kennedy met with the Department of Agriculture in Portlaoise on Thursday to discuss the Rural Development Plan amendments, which will be formally sent to the European Commission shortly.

Mr Kennedy said an opportunity exists to improve aspects of various farm schemes such as TAMS and GLAS, to ensure that the €4bn available in the RDP up to 2020 is utilised, and that farmers can benefit from a wider range of measures.

Commenting on TAMS, Richard Kennedy said that a number of additional items should be added into the scheme, including feed bins for all livestock sectors, underpasses, rubber slat mats, and changes to the Pigs and Poultry Scheme.

He also said that more young farmers should benefit from higher grants.

The IFA has proposed a special grant for farmers who exceed the 5-year rule, but are aged under 40. The association claims that this would help address the issue of young farmers who have been farming for more than five years, but have missed out on the 60% grant rate.

At the same meeting, Rural Development Chairman Joe Brady pressed for the early opening of the GLAS scheme to allow more than 17,000 farmers to join the scheme, thus bringing the total number to nearly 55,000 farmers.

The association also proposed extension of the payment for green cover for tillage farmers, an increase the priority areas under water and bird measures, and higher payments for farmers with Natura land.

In relation to commonages, the IFA’s Hill Committee Chairman Pat Dune said that as much flexibility as possibility should be afforded to ensure that all farmers on hills can fully avail of payments:

“I stress to the Department the importance of opening up the application process for planners to complete commonage management plans. Where commonages still do not have a planner, no farmer should be denied entry into the scheme.”