Tag Archives: Clare farmers

CLARE farmers who received €100,000 in Pillar One payments under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are facing a possible cut of €34,000 following agreement on a new CAP deal. It looks as if direct payments under Pillar One will be effectively capped at €66,000 on a phased basis from 2023 onwards. According to figures obtained by The Clare Champion, CAP payments totalling €84.67 million were paid to 6,254 Clare farmers from October 16, 2019 to October 15, 2020. This included a payment of €1.88 million to Clare LEADER for rural development. ICSA secretary, Eddie Punch, expressed concern that Clare farmers are being asked to do more and more for less money. He said the main objective of CAP was to compensate farmers for providing cheaper food to consumers. In relative terms, he pointed out consumers are paying much less for their food when compared with their take-home pay now than 30 years ago. He outlined the price paid to farmers …

THE Minister of State with Special Responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) has told The Clare Champion that separate minor work applications for farmers affected by flooding on the Fergus embankments and in Doonbeg will be dealt with, as quickly as possible, by his office. The maximum figure possible under each scheme is €500,000. Deputy Simon Harris was speaking during a visit to Clare on Tuesday, when he met with a farming delegation in Kildysart and visited some of the land affected by serious flooding in 2014. “I think they appreciate the frankness and the straight-forwardness of the procedure I have outlined to them. When I came to office and was made aware of these problems, the first thing I did was to bring all the people around the table together. Deputy Pat Breen has been on my case about this for quite a period of time,” he explained. “On March 10, I brought the IFA Clare chairman, …

Angry farmers may stage a rolling demonstration outside a local beef processor unless there is a breakthrough in the national dispute over beef prices, local IFA leaders have warned. Clare IFA chairman, Andrew Dundas has not ruled out a resumption of the action, which involved the staging of protests outside 30 meat plants recently. Mr Dundas warned that Clare farmers would be back on the picket line on Sunday unless there is a major improvement in beef prices from meat processors and a permanent solution to market specification issues. This could include a demonstration outside venues in Ennis and Nenagh. The Clare IFA leader confirmed a final decision on whether or not to take further action against beef factories would be taken following a meeting this weekend. “There is still a lot of anger amongst Clare farmers, with the huge gap that has opened up between Ireland and the UK. Beef prices have risen by about 30 cent per kilo …

The prospect of opening up the Chinese beef market  will be of benefit to Clare farmers, according to Deputy Joe Carey. “The largest ever Irish agri-food trade mission to China, led by Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney, has resulted in a major break through for Irish beef producers,” the Clare Fine Gael TD said. Following two years of technical engagement between the Irish Department of Agriculture and their Chinese counterparts, it has been agreed that a formal inspection team from China will visit Ireland next month to advance the arrangements. “The Irish beef industry will have a golden opportunity in December to showcase to the Chinese delegation our world class beef product. The potential here for Irish farmers is enormous. For example, demand for beef in China is expected to rise by one million tonnes over the next five years. Along with a potential spin off for beef farmers, we are also looking at access to the Chinese market for sheep meat, …

There’s good news for Clare farmers this week, as payments under the 2014 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme have started issuing on schedule. “I am particularly pleased to see that these payments, worth some €149 million, are issuing on target, particularly given the significance of Direct Aid payments to individual farmers and the wider rural community,” the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney said in making the announcement. The minister confirmed that payments will continue to issue as individual cases are confirmed eligible for payment. “I expect in the region of 71,500 eligible farmers will receive their payments in the coming days, although it will in reality take at least one week to issue such a large volume of payments. However, there are a significant number who currently appear ineligible under the stocking provisions; these farmers can submit appropriate evidence to my department’s Portlaoise office, following which their payments will then be released.” Minister Coveney noted that the value …

When Agriculture Minister, Simon Coveney visited Liscannor on Sunday to participate in the John P Holland commemorations, he took time out to reassure Clare farmers that the Government is striving to help those who need it. His comment comes and pressure grows on State agencies and Clare County Council to redouble their efforts to assist farmers whose lands were hit by flooding in January and February. Many farmers are living in fear that there will be a repeat of the serious flooding unlesss repairs and restoration works are addressed immediately. Minister Coveney was given a tour of the worst affected arears when he visited Clare shortly after ther storms had abated. Clare IFA Rural Development chairman, Seamus Murphy said they want the county council and the relevant government agencies to ensure the engineer’s report they had commisioned document is acted on before the bad weather returns.