Offaly farmers take part in major IFA protest in Dublin

IFA members from Laois and Offaly IFA took part in the organisation's picket outside the Department of Agriculture Buildings in Kildare St, Dublin.

IFA sent a clear message to Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue that the delay in payments and changes to the current Nitrate regulations is not acceptable and needs to be re-negotiated.

IFA President Tim Cullinan said that the time for ‘discussion’ and ‘updates’ had passed and that it was time for the Minister to deal with the problems.

“The statement by the Minister in relation to cuts in the Nitrates Derogation, following an online meeting with the EU Commissioner, has further angered farmers. It is a flawed decision and it must be revisited. Derogation farmers have already implemented 30 measures on their farms, but these are not being given a chance to work,” he said. 

IFA withdrew from the Charter talks before the summer in protest at the Minister’s decision to write to farmers advising that certain payments including ANC and the Basic Payment would be paid later in 2023 compared to previous years. However other farm organisations stayed in the talks.

IFA examined the draft document for the proposed Charter meeting. Despite all the talking, absolutely no progress has been made on the 2023 payments dates.

In addition, the Department’s failure to approve TAMS applications for 2023 is causing huge issues for farmers who cannot proceed with building before the winter.

IFA Deputy President Brian Rushe, who headed IFA’s original delegation to the Charter talks, said the talks are a sham as payment dates for 2023 have already been announced by the Minister. The Minister has decided, with a shoulder shrug, that ANC payments will be a month late and the Basic Payment will be two weeks late.

“The Minister must revisit his late payments plan for 2023. These talks are bogus and anyone participating in them is just giving the Minister cover,” he said.

“We now see that the TAMS scheme is a mess with no approvals granted. Farmers who have urgent works to carry out for the winter are in limbo with no indication of when it will be resolved,” he said.

“The Department is grinding to a halt. The Department is prioritising being the best people in the class with the EU above farmers.” he concluded.