11 OCTOBER 2018

ICSA rural development chairman Seamus Sherlock has said he is very disappointed that the budget contained no recognition of the need for proper compensation for designated lands. “ICSA wants to see an NPWS scheme to compensate farmers for designation as the process completely undermines the ability of farmers to farm the land and in some cases completely devalues the land.

For too many years, farmers with designated lands have been left without adequate compensation. The GLAS scheme is only a small help. Many farmers who have designated land are not really compensated by GLAS because they would have been able to avail of GLAS anyway without the designation and all its negative impact.”

Mr Sherlock did however welcome the restoration of the full ANC funding to the pre-crash level. “It is long overdue. The ANC payment is real money for farmers without any of the complex red tape that is associated with a lot of rural development schemes.”

ENDS