The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has called on the government and the EU Commission to compensate Irish farmers’ losses as a result of Brexit.
Earlier in the week, the IFA told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture that beef farmers have already incurred Brexit losses of €101 million since last Autumn, according to the group’s calculations.
Speaking at the time, Healy said that farmers “cannot afford to carry this loss and it must be made good by the Government & EU Commission”.
Keeping Promises
Now, according to the Irish Independent, the group has called for farmers to be reimbursed as Brexit was given an extension until October.
“Beef farmers have gone through a horrendous period of financial losses, mainly as a result of Brexit imposed market uncertainty, changes to the sterling exchange rate and price cuts,” Healy said.
"Some beef farmers are facing financial ruin.
"They cannot afford to carry this magnitude of loss and it is essential that the Government and EU Commission provide a direct support aid package for the farmers concerned.”
Healy added that this was a major test for the two governing bodies to keep good on their promises to support farmers.
“Farmers expect that they will honour the commitments they have made over the last number of months,” he said.
“They must now convert these commitments into real delivery and cover the Brexit losses farmers have already incurred to date.”
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
