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Inishowen farmers' "sheer
desperation"
15.07.09
THE storm over the
Government's decision to close the Rural
Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS) to new
applicants shows no sign of abating.
Donegal farmers travelled to Dublin to protest
against the cuts on Monday while others held pickets
outside the local constituency office of Deputy
Niall Blaney.
The Department of Agriculture has now revealed that
€3 billion had been paid out under the scheme since
it started in 1994.
Donegal County Councillor Pádraig MacLochlainn
yesterday said farmers have had to endure a number
of cuts and setbacks over the past number of years
and particularly the last twelve months.
"It really is a crying shame what this Government is
doing to the agriculture sector," said the
Buncrana-based councillor. |
"Farming families are
highly dependent on the REPS payment as a subsidy to
their income because they have not received a fair
price for their produce, be it dairy, meat, or
vegetables, and there is sheer desperation out
there.
"Farming families are already struggling with the
deferment of payments under the Farm Waste
Management Scheme and cuts such as those to the
Disadvantaged Area Scheme. The Government must
reverse this latest decision immediately." |
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The Cabinet last week
decided, in a move that shocked farmers, to exclude
new applicants to the fourth round of REPS,
effective immediately.
The Department of Agriculture said more than €3
billion had been paid out to farmers under the
scheme since it started fifteen years ago and this
level of funding could not continue in the current
economic climate.
Meanwhile, Cllr MacLochlainn called on the wider
public to support local farmers and "stand
shoulder-to-shoulder with them".
"The REPS payment is a necessity and many of our
small local farming families will simply not be able
to sustain their farming practices without it. Sinn
Fein is calling for the immediate reversal of this
decision." |
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