This article is from page 38 of the 2008-05-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 38 JPG
IT’S been real roller-coaster ride, but after almost four years of bargain- ing, horse trading and achievement, Mary Coughlan left the Department of Agriculture for the last time on Thursday morning.
The last 5 year have been some of the most eventful and controversial in recent memory for Irish farmers, although Minister Coughlan has certainly left the office with more friends than she had back in 2004.
The Donegal woman will now take up a new position as Minister for En- terprise, Trade and Employment and will also act as Tanaiste.
Speaking on Thursday, IFA Presi- dent Padraig Walshe wished Minis-
ter Coughlan well in her new posi- tion and said she could look back on a number of achievements during her four-year term as Minister for Agri- TTA Ken
He also congratulated Brendan Smith on his appointment as Min- ister for Agriculture. Walshe said he looked forward to working with Minister Smith and dealing with the issues in agriculture.
ICSA president Malcolm Thomp- son has welcomed the appointment of Brendan Smith as the new Min- ister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
“We worked well with the minis- ter when he was a minister of state before and look forward to a positive and pro-active relationship with him
into the future,” he said.
“However, we would urge him to ‘hit the ground running’ so to speak on WTO issues, as he will have to vigorously defend Ireland’s agricul- tural interests both in Europe and at WTO.”
Macra na Feirme also welcomed the appointment of Brendan Smith and wished Mary Coughlan the best of luck in her new post as Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment.
However, it was not all kind words from the young farmers organisa- tion.
“We want to warn Brendan Smith that the task ahead as Minister for Agriculture Fisheries and Food will have immediate challenges such as
WTO and the CAP health check, farm waste management scheme along with young farmer specific 1s- sues such as the reintroduction and the continual supports and incentives to young farmers to readdress the age profile in agriculture,’ said a spokes- person from Macra.
Indeed questions have been raised about the timing of this Government reshuffle and the impact that it might have on the upcoming WTO negotia- tions. Minister Coughlan had almost single-handedly been managing the Government’s plan for handling the WTO negotiations.
Fears have been raised that Minis- ter Smith may not have enough time to fully understand the complex is- sues on discussion.