With growing demands in relation to the distribution of the €100m Brexit fund, the ICMSA President has described the option of paying to beef finishers only as “hopelessly unfair and not at all consistent with the facts about who had suffered losses”.
Pat McCormack said that it was simply a matter of fact that everyone along the line from calf, weanling, store to finished cattle producer had taken a hit since 2018 and the distribution of the support package had to recognise that. Mr. McCormack defied anyone to suggest otherwise and to justify the exclusion of any of these farmers. “Everyone has been hit and people simply cannot decide to exclude certain categories of farmers because its suits their own personal circumstances or agenda: All categories have to be covered – including cows, who actually took the biggest hit”, he said.
Mr. McCormack also called on the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to publish the document submitted to the Commission requesting and setting out the justification for the aid. This, noted Mr. McCormack, would ensure full transparency and clear up any confusion and anxiety amongst categories who might feel attempts are being made to exclude them.
“It would go beyond logic to exclude farmers from the package whose losses were used to justify the package in the first place and I sincerely hope that our Minister will make a decision that is fair on all categories of farmers”, he said.
Ends 5 June 2019
Pat McCormack, 087-7608958
President, ICMSA.
Or
Cathal MacCarthy, 087-6168758
ICMSA Press office
