Thursday, 14th
December 2017
info@eastcorkjournal.ie
EAST CORK AGRICULTURE
info@eastcorkjournal.ie
IFA Welcomes Support Scheme For Renewable Heat
IFA Renewables Chair-
man, James Murphy has welcomed Minister Naughten’s announce- ment on the National Support Scheme for Re- newable Heat but has said that the priority for Gov- ernment must be to get the scheme fully operational as soon as possible. James Murphy said,
“The sector has been waiting a long time for this announcement and it is very welcome to now have greater detail on the types of supports and the tariffs that will be available to commercial heat users under the scheme. How- ever, if we are to make a meaningful
contribution to meeting the 2020 re-
newable heat targets, the scheme must be operation- al in the first quarter of 2018.” The demand for heat
energy is the largest source of energy use in Ireland, accounting for 45% of all primary energy usage and 33% of CO2 emissions. The Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH) aims to increase the energy generated from renewable sources in the heat sector by approximately 3%, this is equivalent to 200,000 tonnes of oil equivalent. James Murphy said magnitude
the challenge of the should not be
under-estimated and he expressed concern that the proposed tariffs may
not sufficiently attractive to encourage the scale of adoption
to
heating technologies that is required. He said it would be important that the tar- iffs in the Renewable Elec- tricity Support compliment
the
tariffs in increase adoption particularly of anaerobic digestion systems. “A properly funding an
SSRH with
shown to positively impact regional
competitiveness, renewable
innovation and diversifi- cation of economic activ- ity in rural areas. It can also reduce
greenhouse
Scheme SSRH
gas emissions, help Ire- land move to a low carbon economy and improve waste
annual
budget of €100 million is an imperative if we are to increase the energy gen- erated
from renewable
sources and meet the chal- lenge. Increased uptake of renewable
enormous economic and environmental
for Ireland and has been
energy offers potential
management,”
James Murphy said. He said that a critical
characteristic of the bioen- ergy sector is that the mar- ket consists of ’local loops’ of demand and supply in defined geographic areas. These ‘local loops’ typi- cally have a high level of communities
enterprises,
and thereby retain a high percentage of profits in the local and regional econo- mies.
23
Deadline Monday at noon
Renewal Of Nitrates Derogation Will Support Sustainable Delivery Of Food Wise 2025 Targets
IFA President Joe Healy has said that
concentrates
Commission decision to renew Ireland’s
the EU Nitrates
Derogation will underpin the sustainable delivery of growth objectives in the Food Wise 2025 Strategy. Speaking from a major
conference on the strat- egy, Joe Healy described the review as an impor- tant first step in address- ing significant soil fertil- ity issues, with increased phosphorous allowances for nutrient deficient soils. He said this will support grass growth and reduce the need for additional
by farmers. IFA
to be used Environment
Chairman Thomas Cooney added that over the past 12 months, IFA has led a robust cam- paign here and in Brussels to secure
the necessary
changes to make the Ni- trates Regulation more workable for farmers. “I particularly welcome the move by the Departments of Agriculture and Local Government
better compliance
to achieve with
the regulation, to reduce penalties imposed on farmers and to move to
a more collaborative ap- proach.” IFA expressed concern
over the introduction of additional restrictions for those who avail
of the
derogation, and who wish to spread slurry. Thomas Cooney said the addition- al costs associated with slurry management
for
farmers who spread after June 15th
will require in-
creased TAMS funding. Also, concerns regarding the transitional arrange- ments for pig and poul- try farmers must be ad- dressed over the coming weeks.
IFA Urges Consumers To ‘Check Twice’ & Make Sure They’re Really Buying Irish Food This Christmas
IFA President Joe
Healy has urged con- sumers to check twice to make sure the food they buy this Christmas is re- ally Irish, and is priced in an economically sus- tainable manner. Launching
the IFA’s
Fairness for Farmers, Honesty for Consumers Christmas Campaign, Joe Healy said, “Con- sumers value Irish pro- duced food and want to support
Irish farmers.
Retailers know this and they exploit consumers’ good intentions by using
Misleading labelling and unsustainable discounting put retailers on the Naughty List discount-
misleading labelling and unsustainable
ing to lure customers.” Joe Healy called re-
tailers out on the use of ‘False Flag’ tricolour images and Irish sound- ing brand names to give the impression that food comes from Ireland and that
sumers are ers that
in buying it con- supporting
Irish farmers. He reminded consum- the only labels
they should trust to sig- nify Irish origin are The Bord Bia Quality Mark – Origin Ireland and the
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National Dairy Council Guarantee. Joe Healy gave
ex-
amples of retailers’ at- tempts to mislead and confuse their customers including: • using tricolour im-
ages boasting ‘produced in Ireland’ or ‘processed in Ireland’ on non-Irish food; • selling products with Irish sounding brand names, some of which originate in Ireland and some of which do not; • using fake farm and creamery brand names
eastcorkjournal
to mask non-Irish prod- uct; and,. • displaying Irish
product next to identi- cally packed non-Irish product. Joe Healy said, “Play- ing with perceptions is designed to mislead con- sumers. It denies them the opportunity to make informed choices and gives the impression the retailer cares about local suppliers when in reali- ty there is no guarantee their suppliers are being paid a fair price.”
Unsustainable discounting Joe Healy today also
called attention to the practice
of unsustain-
able discounting by re- tailers and its impact for both farmers and con- sumers. Citing
recent exam-
ples such as selling fresh milk for 67c/l and major discounts on fresh veg- etables, he urged con- sumers to reject prices that are too low, saying, “Prices that do not cover the true cost of produc- tion are
unsustainable.
This discounting lures customers in and gives shops an air of value, but it is bad for both suppliers and customers in the long run. “Unsustainable pric-
ing leads to reduced farmgate prices,
it puts
primary producers out of business and it alters consumers’ perceptions of the value and cost of food. In addition, volume based discounts encourage
over-buying
and cause food waste. “In the long run, as domestic supplier num-
bers decline unsustainable
due to pricing,
customer choice will be restricted and retail pric- es may need to increase to secure supplies,” Joe Healy warned. The
IFA President
challenged retailers: “Will you engage honest and sustainable
retail-
ing or will you continue scrapping for market share, attempting to fool consumers away
from
competing stores, while pushing down supplier prices?”
Tel: 021 463 8000 • Email:
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