Reform of EU agriculture policy needed to save Irish farming-Doolan
Published: 20 September, 2007
Speaking today at the National Forum on the Future of Europe, Sinn Féin's Dublin Spokesperson on European Affairs Cllr. Daithi Doolan has challenged both Fianna Fail & Fine Gael to come clean and admit, "that the EU model of agriculture continues to force families off the land in Ireland and be radically reformed to protect Irish farming."
Speaking on the theme 'The future Model of the European Model of Agriculture' Cllr. Doolan said:
"In order to look forward we must learn from the mistakes of the past. The EU model of farming was supposed to be based on the preservation of family farming, but reality has been to the contrary. EU policy continues to drive Irish families off the land. Predictions now indicate that only a minority of current farms will be viable by 2015, with a greater emphasis on centralisation and a small number of big processors.
"Sinn Fein continues to argue for Common Agriculture Programme reform and decoupling. We believe reform provided an opportunity for small and medium farmers to have security of income through the Single Farm Payment. But for this to be successful the de-coupling needs to be accompanied with structural changes but to date no such re-structuring has taken place. Greater incentives and investment in the domestic processing industry are needed if the EU is to encourage farmers to meet the new challenge of growing energy crops. This of course has been all the more difficult with the closure of Greencore."
Cllr. Doolan continued
"The so called Reform Treaty offers little in solutions for Irish farmers. Political representatives must show the leadership required and guarantee a future for farming communities across this island."
|
