This article is from page 63 of the 2008-05-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 63 JPG
PRESSURE is already mounting on the new team in the Department of Agriculture to hit the ground run- ning with a major decision on the fu- ture of agriculture on the island due to be made in the coming weeks.
The farming organisations have welcomed new Minister, Brendan Smith, along with new Junior Minis- ter, Clare TD Tony Killeen, but have urged them not to drop the ball, es- pecially on the burning issue of the WTO.
Indeed IFA President, Padraig Walshe, last week called for the Gov- ernment to use it’s veto to stop EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandel-
son from damaging Irish farming.
“Beef is thirty times more impor- tant than sugar beet, and supports the livelihoods of 100,000 farmers who would be un-viable as a result of a Mandelson deal, which would reduce cattle prices to €2/kg or 7Op/ Ib,” he said.
MAVCast delome (oy selAeue mnt MN eCoMoree) ete omy, the country could not afford the loss of thousands of jobs in ru- ral towns. 50,000 farmers would be un-viable as a result of handing over a large segment of the food chain to South American ranchers.”
ICSA president, Malcolm Thomp- son, also called on the Government to make a clear and unambiguous statement that it will veto a bad
WTO deal.
“There is no possibility of an ac- ceptable deal based on the current negotiating framework,” he said.
“While the Government has reiter- ated its intention to get a balanced deal, this is pie in the sky. There are no proposals on the table that offer anything to Irish farmers. On the other hand, there are no benefits either for the industrial or services sectors.”
Speaking at the Balmoral show last week, Minister Smith emphasised his commitment to the ongoing close co-operation between the Depart- ments of Agriculture and the Envi- ronment across a range of issues of mutual interest.
He also took the opportunity to re- State the Government’s commitment to seek a balanced outcome to the on- going WTO negotiations. Mr Smith said that the Irish Government’s consistent position was to seek a bal- anced outcome, which does not un- dermine Irish and European agricul- ture and delivers real benefits to the industrial and services sectors.
Minister Smith said that the Gov- ernment had voiced its concerns to the EU Commission at all levels and at every opportunity. This will continue and Minister Smith said he would be taking the matter up at the Agriculture Council.