22


info@eastcorkjournal.ie


EAST CORK AGRICULTURE info@eastcorkjournal.ie


ICSA Sees Positives In Theresa May’s Brexit Speech In Florence


ICSA president Pat-


rick Kent has said that the Florence speech on Brexit


by UK Prime


Minister Theresa May is a hopeful sign that pragmatism is starting to get


the upper hand.


“We now have an ac- ceptance on the UK side that a transition period of about two years, dur- ing which the UK would stay in the single market, is the preferred option. This is a much more pragmatic position than the extreme euro sceptic position of some with- in the Tory party who wanted little or no tran- sition and it suggests that


the chances of a softer Brexit have increased.” Mr Kent also wel- acceptance


comed the


that the UK will have to make some financial contribution to the EU for a period. “This offer will be well short of what the EU wants but it gets us beyond the logjam of whether the UK was liable


for anything into


a negotiation over how much.” “It has always been a transition


clear that


period would be an es- sential element of mov- ing towards a trading relationship where


tar- iffs would not apply to


exports between Europe and the UK. Although there is still a lot of com- plexity and uncertainty around trade deals, the speech gives hope that there is much less like- lihood of Irish exports to the UK being un- dermined between now and 2021. Moreover, Ms May has been care- ful not to be too precise about the transition pe- riod and it is essential that flexibility to extend it further is kept in play.” Mr Kent added that


the re-election of a gov- ernment in Germany led by Angela Merkel was also a positive outcome.


“Chancellor Merkel seems much more prag- matic than her opponent Martin Schulz of the SPD who leans more towards the strand of opinion which prioritis- es making the UK suffer for leaving the EU.” “The speech by Ms


May should be seen as an opportunity by the EU to make progress on Brexit talks. In par- ticular, it should be seen as a sign of progress by EU heads of state at the EU summit meeting in October. The time for grand-standing is now past,” concluded Mr Kent.


IFA Calls On Farmers To Join Push For Pension Equality For Women


IFA Farm Family & So-


cial Affairs Chairperson, Maura Canning is calling on all farmers to join the push for pension equality for women. She said that since changes to the yearly average contribution cate- gories introduced in 2012, the pension gap between women and men has wid- ened. “It is completely un- that women


acceptable are


being discriminated


against for taking time out from paid work to care for children and family mem- bers, particularly when in some instances they were forced to give up work under the marriage bar”, said Maura Canning. IFA is calling on the to address


Government


past injustices for women at or near pension age by: • introducing a total


contribution system for the purposes of calculat- ing the level of contributo- ry pension; and, • ensuring that the pen-


sion system recognises the important


role women


have played and continue to play in providing un- paid care. “It is very saddening to


meet women farmers who have worked all their life on the farm, caring for their children and old- er relatives and who are now facing their old age in poverty because the State still fails to recognise their work as unpaid carers”, Maura Canning said. She said the IFA has


been lobbying in recent years for changes in the pension system to remove discrimination against women farmers, and is de- lighted to lend our support to the campaign by the National Women’s Coun- cil of Ireland (NWCI) for Pension Equality for Women.


Maura Canning asked


all farmers to support the campaign and to contact their local public repre- sentatives to make them


Tel: 021 463 8000 • Email: info@eastcorkjournal.ie • Web: www.eastcorkjournal.ie


more aware of women’s pension issues. The NWCI has produced a new publi- cation outlining the issues in relation to women’s pensions and offering ad- vice on discussing these with public representa- tives. “To honour its com-


mitments in the recently published National Strat- egy for Women and Girls 2017-2020, the Govern- ment must as a matter of urgency assess how our pension policy impacts on women”, Maura Canning said. Orla O’Connor, Direc-


tor of the National Wom- en’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) said, “Budget 2018 is a crucial opportu-


nity to addresses the indi- rect discrimination against women in the


pension


system, as well as ensuring pension policy in Ireland is based on the modern lives of women and men. “A longstanding issue for


women accessing pensions is that


the Homemakers


Scheme only applies retro- spectively to 1994, leaving many women who were forced out of work by the marriage bar with insuffi- cient and unfair pension entitlements. It is critical that the Government im- mediately


backdate the


Homemaker’s Scheme to 1973 and, as promised sev- en years ago, replace the Homemakers’ Disregard with credits.”


IFA President Joe Healy


said that the agri-food sec- tor will be facing a shortage of raw material if farmers are not better rewarded. “There are lots of retail-


ers, processors and agencies doing well on the back of what farmers are produc- ing. However, farmers, par- ticularly in the beef, sheep and tillage


Thursday, 28th


September 2017


Deadline Monday at noon


Time To Recognise Farmers’ Central Role In Food Production – IFA President


and are being exploited by retailers and processors. The


constant downward sectors, are


really struggling. Farmers cannot keep working hard- er and harder for less and less,” he said. Joe Healy said, “The


Ploughing Championships is a showcase for the sec- tor and should be about the central role of farmers and their largest


families in our indigenous indus-


try. Yet increasingly, farm- ers are cast to the margins


pressure that devalues food is simply unsustainable. Retailers claiming to be supporters of farmers are merely pushing them to the brink and encouraging food waste with their bat- tle for market share. I am challenging all


retailers to display a genu- ine commitment to farmers by returning a fair price for food.” The IFA President said


the imbalance in the food chain means farmers are bearing the brunt of ex- change


rate disturbances


arising from Brexit. The rest of the actors in the food chain pass any losses back to farmers. “At its weakest


the major


point, the sterling exchange rate has hit beef farmers for €2m per week. The mush- room sector is also badly exposed as the fallout from the political uncertainty hits farmers in their pock- ets. IFA expects the Minis- ter and the Government to make a strong case in Brus- sels for EU funds to support Irish farmers.” The IFA President said


he was very worried about the looming succession crisis, where drystock and tillage farms in particular won’t keep going because nobody wanted to take up the reins. “A low-income lifestyle will not convince young people


to return


home to farm, with signif- icant knock on damage to rural communities.”


Land Tax Calls - Populist Nonsense Would Be More At Home In Zimbabwe


ICSA rural develop-


ment chairman Seamus Sherlock has hit back at calls by David McWil- liams to tax land to the hilt. “This is the sort of populist


nonsense that


would be more at home in Robert Mugabe’s Zim- babwe and we all know how that has panned out.”


Mr Sherlock said ex-


traordinary comments by Mr McWilliams which describes land as a “use- less asset which gener- ates no innovation, no creativity, no enhanced productivity” ignored the fact that outside of the cities, land in Europe is used not only to feed the population but is also the basis for attracting tour- ists, is a store for carbon and is increasingly used as a source of renewable energy.


“During the crash


when this country was at risk of going under, farm- ers kept their shoulders to the wheel and used the land to increase our agri- food exports year after year to some €11.15 bil- lion in 2016. This would not have been possible if we had taxed land to the hilt or dismissed it as use- less. Unlike other sectors, the value of agri-food ex- ports has minimal import content and has a trickle down benefit to all rural communities rather than being repatriated inter- nationally.” “Far from analysis, Mr


McWilliams’ article (Irish Independent, 23 Septem- ber) is redolent of the kind of thinking based on begrudgery that inspired Robert Mugabe’s thugs to take over farmland in Zimbabwe which has re- sulted in the large scale displacement of some of


eastcorkjournal


Africa’s most successful farmers. The


outcome


has been catastrophic and the bread basket of Southern Africa has be- come the basket case.” “While there may well


be a case to incentivise the development of in- ner city sites in Dublin for housing, this is no ex- cuse to impose another burden on hard working farmers in rural Ireland who are already under se- vere income pressure. Far from being privileged, farmers who own land have seen their labours increasingly undermined by greedy retailers and processors who take more and more margin from the food chain. A far bet- ter focus would be to take a fair share of tax from such operations who are clearly making billions off the back of farmers,” concluded Mr Sherlock.


@eastcorkjournal / #eastcorkjournal


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80