Tag Archives: IFA

IFA President Eddie Downey has welcomed Justice Minister Francis Fitzgerald’s commitment to look more closely at the proposal to provide greater certainty to the legal status of prenuptial agreements. The uncertainty surrounding the legal recognition of prenuptial agreements, in the event of marriage breakdown, is a real issue which is impacting negatively on the timely lifetime transfer of the family farm, according to Mr Downey.. He said, “IFA is supportive of measures that can remove barriers to family farm transfer, and I emphasised to the minister that allaying the fears of parents would be an important supporting mechanism to facilitate the orderly transfer of the family farm. This is in line with other key policy measures required to address issues such as income security. This includes include IFA’s priority taxation proposal for this year’s budget, which would provide an incentive, through the taxation system for parents and children to farm in partnership together, prior to the lifetime transfer of the …

ELDERLY farmers living in isolated areas could be targeted by criminals following the publication of names of recipients of direct Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) payments. Under CAP, for the 12 months up to October 2014, €75.58 million was shared by 6,310 Clare farmers. Farm leaders believe some elderly farmers in very rural areas “are now living in fear that criminals will use the details of their CAP payments as a reason to attack them and extort money from them in their own homes”. The publication of payments on the Department of Agriculture website has been described as an “invasion of privacy” and farm leaders are angry that they are the only group that has been singled out for what they claim is unfair treatment. Farm leaders have also pointed out that the published figures for individual farmers are gross amounts that do not represent the real profit on a farm after all the day-to-day expenses and costs are deducted. The …

IFA president, Eddie Downey has called on Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe to work with the organisation to develop a voluntary package of measures that facilitates the development of proposed Greenway projects, while protecting farmers’ rights. He said, “The Government plans to develop over 330km of Greenway tracks across the country over the next number of years. These projects have the potential to attract tourists and economic development to many rural areas.” However, Mr Downey said they will also significantly impact on farmers and may in some instances divide farm holdings. “This is leading to landowners firmly opposing the use of CPOs, which may have a negative impact on the long-term success of the Greenways initiative. Therefore, it is essential that a robust package of measures is put in place which recognises the inconvenience, severance and injurious affection caused and goodwill required.” The IFA leader has also called on local authorities to engage in this process with the Department of Transport …

An IFA delegation, led by President Eddie Downey and Clare chairman, Andrew Dundas, met with the Minister of State for the OPW, Simon Harris on Wednesday  to press for the repair of embankments damaged in the severe storms of early 2014. IFA has secured a commitment from Minister Harris that he will move this issue on over the coming weeks so that the necessary works can commence. Eddie Downey told the minister that farmers’ lands have been damaged and that the repairs of embankments are necessary to get the land back into production. The delegation told the minister that delays are intolerable and it is not acceptable that there is nobody making a firm decision on the issue. The OPW should take responsibility to ensure that farmers and properties are protected and should instruct Clare County Council that support will be forthcoming through the various schemes under the OPW’s control. Clare IFA chairman, Andrew Dundas said there is huge frustration …

The IFA’s new Forest Assessor service is to be outlined to farmers from the Mid-West at a special demonstration in Templeglantine next Tuesday night. Forest Assessor is a new service offered by IFA that independently analyses forests so that farmers know the value of their forest before going to the market. IFA Farm Forestry chairman, Michael Fleming said, “Forest Assessor uses the most up-to-date technology to measure plots within the forest and then produces a report for farmers showing expected harvest volumes. The report provides a detailed breakdown of timber products as well as the potential value of the timber, based on the latest timber market report. “Knowing the value of your timber before you harvest gives you more power when negotiating with potential buyers”, said Mr. Fleming. “The more knowledge you have on your forest, the more opportunity there is to capture value and maximise your return while protecting the long-term productivity of the forest”. A local farmer who …

IFA president, Eddie Downey has called on Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe to work with his organisation to develop a voluntary package of measures that facilitates the development of proposed Greenway projects, while protecting farmers’ rights. He said, “The Government plans to develop over 330km of Greenway tracks across the country over the next number of years.These projects have the potential to attract tourists and economic development to many rural areas”. However, the IFA president said they will also significantly impact on farmers and may in some instances divide farm holdings. “This is leading to landowners firmly opposing the use of CPOs, which may have a negative impact on the long-term success of the greenways initiative. Therefore it is essential that a robust package of measures is put in place which recognises the inconvenience, severance and injurious affection caused and goodwill required.” Mr Downey has also called on local authorities to engage in this process with the Department of Transport and …

A new national campaign, with a €10,000 reward for “significant information”, has been launched to combat the problem of livestock theft. Jointly organised by Crimestoppers, the Irish Farmers Association and an Garda Síochána, the campaign is calling on members of the public and in particular those in the farming community with information on the theft of cattle and sheep to come forward with information. In Clare alone, 22 livestock were in 2013 and 13 in 2014. Theft of both cattle and sheep is an issue that affects all regions of Ireland, and in one incident during 2014, one farmer had 17 of his 18 calves stolen by thieves. Tim Dalton, chairman, Crimestoppers said, “Crimestoppers provides a fully confidential means for every citizen to report crime, without fear of recrimination. The call is free and the information is given completely anonymously. The service has consistently proved very valuable in eliciting information to assist investigations in both urban and rural Ireland.” IFA …

IFA president, Eddie Downey has paid tribute to Tom Cahill one of the nine central figures in the historic Farmers’ Rights campaign of 1966, who passed away last night. Tom Cahill, from Ballyportry, Corofin, was the last surviving member of the nine farmers who led more than 40,000 farmers in a march to Dublin after which Tom, along with eight other selected representatives, made their way to the Department of Agriculture to meet with the minister. When the minister refused to speak with the group, they staged a sit-in on the steps outside Government Buildings, which lasted 21 days, before the Government backtracked and agreed to discuss the concerns of the farming community. IFA president, Eddie Downey said the legacy of the effort and the hard work by Tom Cahill and his farmer colleagues in 1966 is evident in the continued survival of not just the IFA, but the farming community. Mr Downey said he believed the effort made by …