ICSA Rural Development chair Tim Farrell has welcomed the announcement by the EU Commission of an exceptional aid measure to allow up to €15,000 payment to farmers affected by input cost escalation, but he said that “clarity was now needed on how this is to be funded.”  

“While the EU announcement says the payment can be made through the EAFRD (which is the Pillar 2 rural development fund) it is less clear where this money is coming from. I am now calling on the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to immediately convene a meeting of the Rural Development Programme Monitoring Committee to examine the options.” 

“ICSA believes that the Government will now need to step up to the plate with real money to actually address the scale of the problem that has seen fertiliser prices trebled and diesel prices doubled in little over a year.” 

“Minister McConalogue must come up with proposals that would utilise a mix of unused funds from the Rural Development Programme, and significant additional funds from the Department of Public Expenditure.” 

ICSA is also seeking clarity on the potential for additional direct funding from the European Union. “Normally, funding under the EAFRD is delivered through co-financing. The root of the inflation problem is the quantitative easing programmes of the European Central Bank, and it is not good enough for the EU to just expect that member states can pick up all the tab.”  

ICSA is clear that any supports offered to farmers must be delivered with minimum bureaucracy. “It is critical that mistakes of the past are not repeated. We saw with the BEAM Scheme how unfair and overly complicated conditionality can result in thousands of farmers missing out on vital support.” 

ENDS