Commissioner Hogan Must Reject Plan to Raid Agriculture Budget – Downey

IFA President Eddie Downey has called on Agriculture Commissioner, Phil Hogan, to insist on the reversal of the proposal to raid €465m from the Agriculture budget.

The IFA President described as unjustified and irresponsible the proposal by the outgoing Barroso commission, in its dying days, to grab €465m from the Agriculture budget for use in other areas.

Mr Downey said “This is Agriculture budget money, most of which has been collected from farmers in superlevies and I am appalled that it could be raided in this way, by a Commission on its way out of office.

He pointed out that the new Commission is already grappling with the impact of the Russian trade ban on agriculture markets and farm incomes. He said, “This is a foreign policy issue, which was not of farmers’ making, but where farmers are taking the hit”.

IFA President Eddie Downey called on Commissioner Hogan and President Juncker’s Commission to reverse Barroso’s irresponsible proposal and leave the €465m funding within the Agriculture budget.

Pointing out that the Agriculture Council meets with Commissioner Hogan for the first time on Monday, he called on Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, to make clear that the Irish Government will oppose any raid on the Agriculture budget.