Longford farmers call for government to come clean on €1bn Brexit adjustment reserve

IFA President Tim Cullinan said the Government must immediately explain where the €1bn Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund (BAR) has been allocated.

“An IFA delegation met with the Department of Agriculture and it appears only €50m from the fund is going to primary agriculture,” he said.

“There was much fanfare from Minister Simon Coveney, then Minister for Foreign Affairs, when this funding was ‘secured’ for Ireland.  It appears to be disappearing in a fog of bureaucracy,” he said. 
 “The Government must come clean and set out where the full €1.1bn is being allocated or is it going back to the EU. We appreciate the tight criteria to access this funding, but there are very mixed messages coming from Government about why some proposals have been included and others have not. I raised this with Tanáiste Micheál Martin at a recent meeting of the Brexit Stakeholder Forum,” he said.

“While we have not yet had a ‘Hard Brexit’, Irish agriculture is still facing an uncertain future in relation to the UK market, especially with the new trade deals the UK are signing.”

IFA National Farm Business Chair Rose Mary McDonagh, who led the delegation, said IFA submitted a detailed document outlining the challenges every sector of Irish agriculture is facing because of Brexit.