ICMSA meet Sinn Fein on Farming and Rural Issues.

The President of ICMSA, Mr. Pat McCormack said that they had a “constructive and detailed meeting” with Sinn Fein yesterday on farming and rural issues with the farm organisation setting out what it felt to be the key issues requiring attention now and in coming years.

“The challenges facing the farming and wider rural economy are growing by the day with key issues like Brexit, CAP Post 2020, Climate Change, Below-cost retailing of farm produce and a possible global recession to the fore.  The next Government – whoever forms it – will be facing immediate serious challenges from a farming and food -production perspective and ICMSA set out the policies that we believe need to be implemented to ensure that Ireland has a vibrant family farm-based agriculture sector going forward”, said the ICMSA President.  

Mr. McCormack said the discussions covered the wide range of issues impacting on farming and he noted that ICMSA is happy that Sinn Fein is alert to the very significant problems facing farm families and, by extension, the whole rural economy. The question, observed Mr. McCormack, is whether we can go past acknowledgement of the issues to actively addressing them. Certainly the CAP Budget and the proposed EU-UK Trade Deal represent two absolutely critical issues that Ireland needs results on in the shape of no reduction in the CAP budget and a trade deal that allows tariff free access between the EU and UK for food produce, concluded Mr. McCormack.   

Ends     5 March 2020

Pat McCormack, 087-7608958

President, ICMSA.

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Cathal MacCarthy, 087-6168758

ICMSA Press Office