Tag Archives: IFA

The increase in the volume of red tape and bureaucracy involved to comply with environmental agricultural schemes has been criticised by a new Clare farm leader. Veteran IFA East Clare member, Stephen Walsh was unanimously elected unopposed as the new Clare IFA chairman following the organisation’s annual general meeting in the Woodstock Hotel, Ennis on Monday night. In an interview with The Clare Champion, Mr Walsh warned the form filling that is required for farmers has got a hundred times worse than when former IFA President, John Dillon railed against the bureaucracy farmers had to endure. “Someone is going to have to have a look and find out what is this all about. We have to get professionals now to fill out our forms. There are so much criteria and red tape if we make a mistake it is too serious,” he said. “Farmers have to pay farm planners up front. We were promised money under the ACRES scheme last …

The battle for the leadership of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) comes to Clare this week with all four candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency speaking at an event in Dromoland. The race to become the next leader of the IFA is a direct shoot-out between Francie Gorman from Laois and Martin Stapleton from Limerick. This could be an historic election for the organisation, with Alice Doyle from Wexford hoping to make history and become the first ever female Deputy President of the IFA, when she takes on Pat Murphy from Galway. Clare IFA chairperson, Tom Lane, is encouraging farm families to attend the IFA President and Deputy President Election Debate next Wednesday, October 4, in The Inn at Dromoland, Newmarket-on- Fergus at 8pm. “Farmers, like everyone, are very conscious there is an issue with climate change, and are playing their part to reduce emissions, protect water quality and safeguard biodiversity. As set out in Food Vision 2030, there must …

VEGETATION encroaching on a number of roads in East Clare has resulted in drivers losing wing mirrors and windscreens, a meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District has heard. The topic was raised by Councillor Pat Burke who described it as “a famous item” as it is comes up so often. “Many landowners do great work, but there are still sections of our roads where they don’t,” he said. “In this day and age, people deserve better, particularly drivers of HGVs. The problem hasn’t gone away. “The council are doing their bit and lots of landowners do good work. Some respond to letters from the Municipal District office, but others don’t. It’s a major problem. “Last Saturday, a lorry driver broke a mirror. In this day and age, it’s not good enough. Driving a car is no problem, but if you’re in a lorry or a tractor, mirrors are at risk. It’s awful to think you have to keep out to …

HUNDREDS of local families are struggling to cover the cost of food and fuel, a council committee has heard, with concerns that lockdown is tipping people into debt and mental health issues. A “food and fuel poverty emergency” like that seen during the first wave of Covid-19, was outlined to members of the Rural Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) this week. Bernie Haugh, Senior Executive Officer, Rural and Community Development, said 375 families and individuals now need emergency food and fuel support. “Heat and lighting costs are increasing as more people spend time at home under the Level 5 restrictions, school and childcare closures result in more families having to meet additional food needs,” she outlined. “Older people are struggling to meet fuel costs and that’s worsened by the lack of alternative heated spaces. They would have gone to libraries or shopping centres, that’s no longer available to them. Missing fuel payments creates additional pressure. Where a family is cut off …

CONSULTATION with landowners will be central in the development of the West Clare Greenway, a senior council official had pledged. Leonard Cleary made his remarks in response to a request from Councillor Susan Crawford for an update on the long-awaited trail which will run through Ennis, Corofin, Ennistymon, Lahinch, Miltown Malbay, Quilty, Doonbeg, Moyasta, Kilrush and Kilkee. At the January meeting of the municipal district, Mr Cleary said that landowners and the farming community would be consulted at every stage. In response to the motion from Councillor Crawford, Seán Lenihan, Senior Engineer with the council’s Project Management Office (PMO) said that technical advisors for the Planning and Consent Phase and Detailed Design Phase for a 20km section between Kilrush and Kilkee will be appointed by March. “Following the council’s commissioning of a positive Feasibility Study, we were fortunate to secure €255,000 from the Department of Transport’s Carbon Tax Fund to progress the proposal through the various stages required,” Mr Lenihan’s …

FARMING representative organisations in Clare have given a cautious welcome to Budget 2021, while voicing reservations over the fairness of the an increase of almost 2c per litre in the price of agri-diesel. An increase of €7.50 per tonne of carbon came into effect last Tuesday night, adding 1.937c the cost of a litre of green diesel. The measure takes the total carbon tax on agri-diesel to almost 9c per litre. Said Cratloe’s Eddie Punch, General Secretary of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA), “The carbon tax is an environmental measure when there is a viable alternative to agri-diesel. When there’s no realistic alternative, it becomes just another tax, and it’s unfair.” Tom Lane, Clare County Chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), agreed the measure is unjust in the view of his members. “There is no viable alternative to agri-diesel on the market currently,” he said. “We understand the pressure to reduce emissions and when you look …

DEER are said to be causing significant damage to farms and forests in East Clare, with the pandemic being blamed for a slow-down in the processing of permits for hunters, five weeks into open season. Concerns have also been raised about the ongoing issue of illegal deer hunting, which a major conservation and management organisation described as a recurring problem in the east of the county. “There are landowners in East Clare who might go out to find 30 to 40 deer on their grazing,” said William Shortall of the IFA  said. “As the population of deer expands, they’re competing for food and that’s what drives them into grassland areas and tillage. What we need in the long term is an agency with responsibility for the overall management of deer, who will be able to put effective plans in place to control their numbers. We’re entering the rut now, where stags move off their territory in search of females, so …

FARMERS in the Burren are said to be in “dire straits” after almost three months with virtually no rainfall. Despite the thundery downpours experienced in recent days across Clare, much of the north of the county has escaped, with drought-like conditions posing challenges for farmers. “It will be 13 weeks from the Spring Equinox to the Summer Solstice this weekend,” noted Burren IFA Chairman Michael Davoren. “In my lifetime, I haven’t seen a three month spell without rain. There’s been a slow drought since early Spring, which has badly hit the winterages. The wells and the springs of the Burren are in danger of running dry at this stage.” Mr Davoren estimated that grass growth is down between 30 and 40%, with some farmers having to use sileage to feed their cattle. “It threatened to rain at the weekend, but there wasn’t a drop. The winterages need a good dousing. The rain will come eventually,” he said, “but you can’t …