NEWS & EVENTS

The Chairperson of ICMSA’s Farm & Rural Affairs Committee said that “yet another” opportunity to modernise TAMS and make it fit-for-purpose had been spurned as the Department announced lower than expected increases in the reference costs across a range from 5 to 15%. Pointing out that CMSA has repeatedly highlighted…

The President of ICMSA, Pat McCormack, has warned that the Environmental Permit System being proposed by the Commission for farms with 150 livestock units or more will move Ireland’s family farm system decisively towards destruction and he appealed for some degree of logic to be brought to the debate “before…

Speaking in advance of the imminent March milk price announcements by the Co-ops, ICMSA Dairy Committee Chairperson, Noel Murphy, has called on all Co-ops and milk purchasers to bring base milk price up to 50cpl for March supplies. Mr. Murphy said that the price is fully justified by market returns…

ICMSA President Pat McCormack had welcomed the announcement from Glanbia to provide options to those farmers that are facing considerable challenges from having large percentages of the milk contracted under Fixed Milk Price Schemes. There is growing and unprecedented pressure on dairy farmers who locked into these contracts in the…

The President of ICMSA has said that “there are no circumstances” in which ICMSA will agree to a cap on the volumes of milk produced in Ireland.   Mr. Pat McCormack said that the whole multi-billion Euro sector was relying on the recent comments of both Professor Boyle and Tanaiste Varadkar…

Reacting to the announcement that Friends of the Irish Environment has launched a High Court challenge to the Government’s Food Vision 2030 Strategy, ICMSA President, Pat McCormack, said that it was now imperative that what he called “the duly elected Government” proceeded with the plan. Mr. McCormack said that the…

The Chairperson of ICMSA’s Livestock Committee had welcomed the announcement by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine that calves born after 1 July 2021 will be eligible for inclusion in the 2022 Dairy Beef Calf Scheme.  The announcement was made following a meeting and on foot of repeated…

The Chairperson of ICMSA’s Farm & Rural Affairs Committee has said that “unfortunately” he cannot see how the Forestry Licencing Plan 2022 – details of which were published last week – will deal with a forestry sector that he described as “completely seized-up”. Denis Drennan said the stress that the…

  The President of ICMSA has said that farmer attention on the new Agri-Environment Climate Measure (AECM) is bound to fall very quickly on the ‘project teams’ that will be assigned to the various locations around the country earmarked for the scheme. Pat McCormack said that it is perfectly obvious…

  The President of ICMSA has accused successive Irish Governments of a split-personality attitude to regulation and enforcement that “is gradually wearing down the decent majority.”  Pat McCormack said that it was absolutely infuriating to be reading again about an epidemic of theft right across rural areas aimed at harvesting…