Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmer’s Association has criticised the increase on state aid limits recently announced by the European Commission, saying that it does not reflect the damage done by a no deal.
ICSA president Patrick Kent said that the new limits won’t help prepare beef farmers for the ‘absolute devastation’ that would result from a hard Brexit on the sector
'Not Even Remotely Close'
“Increasing the three-year state aid limit from €15,000 to €25,000 would barely cover the losses already incurred by a sector where beef price is down up to €200 per head on certain categories of cattle such as bull beef,” he said.
“However, if there is a no-deal Brexit and the UK applies full WTO tariffs to beef imports, then the state aid announcement will not even remotely cover beef losses. In that case, the Irish Government will have to demand a comprehensive EU package to add to extra state aid.”
The ICSA has met senior officials in Brussels to make the case that “Brexit is Europe’s problem”.
“Talking about solidarity between the EU-27 is fine but meaningless unless it is backed up by extra funds,” he continued.
“Irish beef farmers did not cause Brexit and they cannot be expected to carry the can. While Ireland is committed to the EU, such commitment must be reciprocated to protect Irish farmers.”
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
