Opening Remarks of An Tánaiste and Uachtaráin Fhianna Fáil Micheál Martin Address to the IFA National Council

Thank you for the invitation to be here today.

 

As leader of Fianna Fáil and then as Taoiseach and Tánaiste I have always understood the importance of taking time to actively engage with farmers and farming organisations.

 

Our family farms and the agrifood sector as a whole are not only our most important indigenous industry, they have an immense social and cultural importance to our country.  They are a defining part of our Irish identity.  And I passionately believe that they will play as important a role in our future as they have in our past.

 

I believe that people talk-down rural Ireland too much.  I believe that it can and will have a strong future, but for this to happen we need sustained action on a wide range of fronts.

 

We need action on secure incomes which break the cycle of insecurity which arises too often.

 

We need to do more to recognise the unique role of the family farm by addressing the critical issues of succession and other supports.

 

And we need to recognise farmers as a positive force in preserving our countryside while also delivering the food security which is essential to Ireland and Europe.

 

During my party’s time in government I’ve ensured that the interests of farming and the wider agrifood sector have always been on the agenda of government and my interactions with the EU and other governments.

 

My focus today is to talk with you about the future, but I am going to say that we stand by our record.  We secured funding of €10 billion for farm families between EU and Exchequer funding.

 

We supported 55,000 farmers to join Acres.

 

We created the first ever Agrifood regulator and supported innovations which are crucial to the future of the sector.

 

And we’ve responded to urgent challenges as they’ve arisen for different sectors.

 

But as I’ve said, I want us to move on to a new agenda of permanent security for farming and for the expansion of our agrifood industry as an economic anchor for our country.

 

In the manifesto we released yesterday we provide over €280 million per year in new funding for agriculture.  There are far too many proposals to go into them in depth, but let me explain a few.

 

Our proposals involve detailed commitments on protecting and improving farm incomes.  These proposals are about delivering secure and decent incomes.

 

They included improved payments for sucklers and ewes.

 

Increasing support under the Dairy Beef Scheme and expanded support for tillage.

 

We want to introduce a new income volatility taxation measure, allowing farmers to defer up to 5% of gross receipts in any year – and an Emergency Weather and Flood Damage Scheme together with a one-stop-shop for farmers to access emergency assistance.

 

Taken together, these measures will make aid faster and more certain when it is needed.

 

To take the next step of fair prices, we will give the Agri-Food Regulator the power to compel transparency in price and market information.

 

And we want to implement a range of supports which enable farmers to benefit from higher quality stock.

 

Of course ensuring good, sustainable incomes for farmers means we have to work actively at European level.

 

As Taoiseach and then Tánaiste, I ensured that agriculture became a regular item at cabinet and cabinet committee levels.  Building alliances with other countries and lobbying for Ireland’s interests has been central to my work and the work of my Department.  I made every European leader aware of our support for our high-quality and sustainable agriculture, and the national interest we attach to protecting the CAP.

 

As we have outlined in our manifesto, we will fight for a fully-funded CAP and reject pressure to divert money to other areas.  Unlike other parties, we have gone further, and made proposals to stop the dynamic where there are efforts to undermine the CAP in every budget negotiations.

 

CAP is the most successful programme the EU has ever developed.  It has ensured that a continent once defined by regular food shortages, has attained full food security – with secure and high quality food supplies.

 

The EU does need more money to develop its work, but it can’t be at the expense of the CAP.  I have offered at EU Council level to support new revenues for other areas, but only on condition that we end the zero-sum efforts to undermine the CAP.

 

And in the negotiations, which Ireland will help shape when it holds the Presidency of the Council in 2026, we will also push for a simplification of payment systems and controls which are more balanced and proportionate.

 

 

As well as measures to secure farm incomes, we want to defeat the false idea that there is a conflict between legitimate environmental objectives and a strong, high-income farming and agrifood sector.

 

Wherever I have talked with farmers they have consistently said that they support national environmental goals, but rightly reject the idea that they should be labelled as a barrier to progress.

 

I believe that the cause of meeting environmental goals have been damaged by an unnecessary and inflexible approach of either blaming farmers or calling for key sectors to be downscaled.

 

In every area, we have the opportunity to deliver a sustainable environment and high-incomes and that is what we are proposing.

 

We want to introduce a new payment which rewards farmers who use new methods to reduce emissions and protect the environment. We want to expand investment in technology which will allow the retention of profitable levels of activity while achieving environmental goals.

 

We will ensure that funding from the multi-billion reserve fund for Infrastructure, Climate and Nature is available for the agricultural sector.

 

And we will work every day to protect our nitrates derogation.

 

We will do this in two ways.

 

First of all, we will work with farmers in a more intensive effort to improve key waterways.  We will create a permanent ‘Farming for Water’ scheme for all affected areas.  This will provide detailed advice and funding on an entirely new level.  A one-to-one level of support to plan and then to access funding to implement improvements.

 

In the current scheme for the Slaney we’ve seen farmers taking the lead in this scheme and delivering real improvements in water quality while fully protecting their incomes.

 

This work will dramatically aid the diplomatic effort we will undertake to ensure that it is understood that unique factors in our grass-based system, in tandem with our climate and soil type, mean that our derogation is absolutely reasonable.

 

 

And we also want to implement a range of other actions which go to the heard of supporting farming families.

 

The issue of succession planning is one which is constantly raised with me by farmers.  The uncertainty about succession and the lack of support is something which is a major worry and Fianna Fáil wants to implement a comprehensive response.

 

As you know, Charlie MacConalogue has already kicked this off with action to develop proposals. Our commitment is to create a formal national programme to advise and assist farmers with succession issues.

 

It is a vital national interest that farming continues as a vibrant, family-based industry in Ireland.  And therefore farms must be treated differently in various areas.

 

We have introduced reform to the Fair Deal scheme and are committed to further reforms to ensure that accessing nursing home care does not hinder succession and respects the unique character of agricultural land.

 

Support for young people working in agriculture and women in agriculture also form part of our proposals.

 

In relation to housing, extending the eligibility to various support schemes for refurbishment is central to the plans we have outlined.

 

As the backbone of our rural communities, farmers will also benefit from the new era in support for rural community development which we want to begin.

 

Support for rural services, increased numbers of Gardai in rural communities, extra support for rural schools – these are all part of our plans.

 

 

I believe in the future of Irish agriculture and rural Ireland.  I believe that we have to move forward with a range of actions to guarantee good incomes, to bring greater consistency to incomes, to achieve environmental objective while growing agriculture and the agrifood sector, to help secure the future of farming through action on succession and attracting young people and women to the sector.

 

Fianna Fáil’s plans are detailed and they are funded by a provision of over €280 million per annum for the new programmes and extended supports we have outlined.

 

Ours is a commitment to break the cycle of uncertainty which farmers so often face.  It is a commitment to concrete and sustained action at every level to make sure that farming remains a vital part of Ireland’s society and economy.