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IRISH farmers are now firmly on election footing following the launch of the IFA’s election manifesto by Padraig Walshe last week. Mean- while, following the closing date for entering the EU Parliament race last Monday, candidates in the EU North Western area have also begun to court the farming vote in earnest.
The IFA will host a series of pub- lic meetings this week in each of the constituencies for the European Par- liament elections.
“The IFA Manifesto outlines the key policy issues on the IFA’s agenda for the European elections,” said Walshe.
“In the three constituencies, the IFA will be meeting candidates to discuss this agenda. Farmers and their families will make their judg- ment on polling day based on the re- sponses we get from the candidates and the political parties.
“For the dairy industry, price and market supports are necessary to sta- bilise dairy market prices and provide a viable income for milk producers. In the wider context, family farming must be protected by creating a floor under commodity markets and main- taining prices at sustainable levels.”
The IFA president said the Govern- ment must deliver immediately on its commitment to sheep farmers that the €29 million in unused CAP Sin-
gle Payment funds will be allocated to alleviate the sheep sector.
“The annual cost of the CAP is equivalent to less than €100 for each European citizen. This is a real value return to EU taxpayers,” said the IFA president.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fail’s Pat “The Cope” Gallagher has outlined his at- tention to protect the Common Agri- cultural Policy.
“If I am elected to the European Parliament, I will seek to protect EU financial transfers to Irish farm- ers under the Common Agricultural Policy,’ he said.
“As a result of the CAP Health check 2008 negotiations which were concluded last November, Irish
farmers, rural communities and the Irish food sector are receiving €1.8 billion a year under the CAP for each year between now and 2013.”
Sinn Féin EU candidate Padraig Mac Lochlainn met dairy farmers last week and called for urgent ac- tion to be taken to address the “scan- dal” of low prices paid to dairy farm- ers. “The farm gate price of milk is now just 22c which is around the same as it was 20 years ago,” said MacLochlainn.
“That is absolutely scandalous and clearly unsustainable. I have met with farmers throughout the North West constituency and they are quite rightly demanding a fair price for their product.”