disadvantaged areas

fepper

i see in 2days sunday indo that the disadvantaged area scheme could be scrapped cos us farmers are the new celtic tigers and costing irish taxpayers 220 million each year:mad:

Pharaoh1

According to the article 72% of all farmland is classified as disadvantaged.
I presume this is accurate.

johngalway

I can see that happening, unfortunately. From a purely selfish point of view I'd hope the entire scheme won't be scrapped and an alternative can be put forward that may still benefit some of us.

5live

Pharaoh1 wrote: »

According to the article 72% of all farmland is classified as disadvantaged.
I presume this is accurate.

Afaik the government will have to get EU approval to reduce the areas covered which will make them look like complete tools as they argued so hard to get the areas approved in the first place.

I think it is co-funded so a minimum ammount will have to be paid by the government to maximise the EU funds paid out.

While saying all that, there is a high level cohort in the public service that would dearly like to cut the DAs out altogether not to mind cut it to the minimum. So expect a cut to the absolute minimum ammount of government money paid out under the DA scheme over the next 2 years. I remember tales of fierce resistance to FF increases in the DAs by the civil service a few years ago and rural funding is thought of as a luxury whereas urban funding (all urban funding:rolleyes:) is 'critical infrastructure', even the now abandoned tube-link;)

fodda

Does this include the SAC land as well and the raised bogs?

johngalway

The ironic thing is, with so many cuts and proposed cuts compliance rates will start falling. I know the SFP rate for some, perhaps a lot, is a lot, but for others it's chicken feed.

If one were to adopt a two fingered approach, are they removing the carrot or the stick? Fines are the weapon of choice but if there's SFA cheques to take that money out of, well, what they gonna do?

Birdnuts

fodda wrote: »

Does this include the SAC land as well and the raised bogs?

AFAIK that is a separate issue - DAS payements are a flate rate for farmers inside defined areas which includes all land whether designated or not.

PS: The OP has a point about the growing beleif that farmers are the new "CELTIC TIGERS" - this could indeed backfire on the industy in terms of government looking for cuts or increasing attention from the taxman(just look at the recent targetting of pensioners in that regards):(

fodda

Birdnuts wrote: »

AFAIK that is a separate issue - DAS payements are a flate rate for farmers inside defined areas areas which includes all land whether designated or not.

So do you get an extra stand alone payment as well for SAC land ?

If not and the DAS payments do go then why should anybody give a monkeys about the regs?

Birdnuts

fodda wrote: »

So do you get an extra stand alone payment as well for SAC land ?

If not and the DAS payments do go then why should anybody give a monkeys about the regs?

Thats my understanding of the issue as stated earlier - the bigger issue is potential cuts to all schemes, though I can't imagine even this government would be stupid enough to put a significant amount of EU funds for Agri schemes in jeapardy. Though the slopiness/slowness of the Dept of Ag in regards to clarifying all these issues for farmers doesn't exactly inspire confidence:rolleyes:

Bitten & Hisses

5live wrote: »

Afaik the government will have to get EU approval to reduce the areas covered which will make them look like complete tools as they argued so hard to get the areas approved in the first place.

I think the good ship "Not looking like complete tools" set sail a good while back;)

supersean1999

time for slurry outside the dail,

Pharaoh1

Maybe someone can correct me but I think the entire amount of DAS money comes from the exchequer and this is why it along with whats left of the suckler payment is up for consideration.

theaceofspies

This is consistent across most if not all the public sector now. The delivery of services is cut in order to avoid pay cuts and maintain the priveleges of the incumbents there at all costs. You would have to wonder what work a lot of them will have to do if things continue on. Of course the old excuse of being short-staffed is being rolled out; we've been listening to that for years now.

It might be time for a new farm body to stand up to (maybe the Real IFA:cool:) because the IFA are giving the Government a very smooth passage towards Scheme oblivion.

In this regard I smell a rat in the DAS cuts. In IMHO this has all the fingerprints of the IFA all over it in their pre-budget sublmission to the Department, in doing so sacrificing the small farmer for their membership who are able to make financial contributions over and above the ordinary membership fee. All you hear out of the IFA now is "Active Farmer" this and "Active Farmer" that; it's becoming an obsession with them. Of course such information would never be made public.
If farm prices fall then the fun starts as there won't be a safety for farmers.
Happy Christmas:D

reilig

Pharaoh1 wrote: »

Maybe someone can correct me but I think the entire amount of DAS money comes from the exchequer and this is why it along with whats left of the suckler payment is up for consideration.

Sorry pharaoh,

Just made an ar$e of your post by hitting edit instead of quote on it. Too much power.

Can you repost it?

Reilig

Pharaoh1

Birdnuts wrote: »

Thats my understanding of the issue as stated earlier - the bigger issue is potential cuts to all schemes, though I can't imagine even this government would be stupid enough to put a significant amount of EU funds for Agri schemes in jeapardy. Though the slopiness/slowness of the Dept of Ag in regards to clarifying all these issues for farmers doesn't exactly inspire confidence:rolleyes:

Sorry I messed up previous post but in response to the above we are gone past the stage of potential cuts. REPS gone and cuts for those who are left in, AEOS looks like it is gone too, installation aid gone and already cuts for forestry and DAS was trimmed a bit too for the higher recipients. Suckler payment halved.
Also the govt has already abandoned a significant amount of EU funding as REPS was co-funded.
As far as I know the DAS is all exchequer funded as is the suckler scheme and this is why these are up for consideration.

Agree the the IFA are only really interested in maintaining the SFP and don't care too much about the other schemes.
The farmer whose 25k of direct payments was made up of say 10k SFP, 10k REPS and 5k DAS has and will be royally screwed compared to the farmer who has a 25k SFP.

johngalway

theaceofspies wrote: »

In this regard I smell a rat in the DAS cuts. In IMHO this has all the fingerprints of the IFA all over it in their pre-budget sublmission to the Department, in doing so sacrificing the small farmer for their membership who are able to make financial contributions over and above the ordinary membership fee. All you hear out of the IFA now is "Active Farmer" this and "Active Farmer" that; it's becoming an obsession with them. Of course such information would never be made public.
If farm prices fall then the fun starts as there won't be a safety for farmers.
Happy Christmas:D

Uh-oh, I'll keep the door of my bunker open for you, I sense incoming

Tora Bora

theaceofspies wrote: »

This is consistent across most if not all the public sector now. The delivery of services is cut in order to avoid pay cuts and maintain the priveleges of the incumbents there at all costs. You would have to wonder what work a lot of them will have to do if things continue on. Of course the old excuse of being short-staffed is being rolled out; we've been listening to that for years now.

It might be time for a new farm body to stand up to (maybe the Real IFA:cool:) because the IFA are giving the Government a very smooth passage towards Scheme oblivion.

In this regard I smell a rat in the DAS cuts. In IMHO this has all the fingerprints of the IFA all over it in their pre-budget sublmission to the Department, in doing so sacrificing the small farmer for their membership who are able to make financial contributions over and above the ordinary membership fee. All you hear out of the IFA now is "Active Farmer" this and "Active Farmer" that; it's becoming an obsession with them. Of course such information would never be made public.
If farm prices fall then the fun starts as there won't be a safety for farmers.
Happy Christmas:D

We need to get John Dillon back in charge of the IFA:D The old established order nearly had a corronary when he got in:D

Dillon election 'a kick in the teeth for IFA establishment'

By Mairead McGuinness Farm Editor

Wednesday December 19 2001
Wednesday December 19 2001

JOHN Dillon was elected president of the IFA at a marathon 12-hour count in Dublin yesterday and immediately promised to deliver more for Irish farmers.
At the third and final count, the Limerick man polled 492 votes against 447 for his nearest rival Raymond O'Malley, who surprised many observers by coming second.

Monaghan man John Boylan was eliminated on the first count, with Laois man Padraig Walshe going out in the second count.

John Dillon stayed away from the count centre until the final tally. His arrival into the centre was greeted with shrieks of delight from his followers who claimed it was a victory for the "ordinary farmers of Ireland and a kick in the teeth for the establishment of the IFA".

One declared that the "Taliban had won" and warned the media to treat their man fairly.

"Farmers are being treated like dirt in this country," they declared.

Dillon canvassed on the simple but effective platform of "Dillon delivers" and on his acceptance speech he promised to deliver "even more" for Irish farmers.

"I want farmers to be able to say I made a difference," he declared.

He spoke of delicate negotiations at national and EU level on new and difficult environmental regulations, on excessive red tape in farming and on food safety.

"I will use ability and diplomacy to deliver on all these issues," he added.

He said farmers and rural life have been pushed down the priority list.

"They should remember that we are the custodians of the countryside."

John Dillon has been deputy president of the IFA for the past four years and has always considers himself to be an "outsider", holding more radical and militant views than many of the association's more well known voices.

Also elected yesterday were Ruaidhri Deasy from Roscrea, deputy president, while Donal Kelly of West Cork is the new Munster vice-president, Monaghan's Eugene Sherry is the North Leinster/Ulster vice-president and Matt Merrick is the new South Leinster vice-president.

- Mairead McGuinness Farm Editor





Dillon election 'a kick in the teeth for IFA establishment'

By Mairead McGuinness Farm Editor

Wednesday December 19 2001

theaceofspies

johngalway wrote: »

Uh-oh, I'll keep the door of my bunker open for you, I sense incoming

Yes, Johngalway, plenty of "Yes Men" still among the farming fraterity.

greenfingers89

Pharaoh1 wrote: »

and already cuts for forestry.

of what sort??

blue5000

greenfingers89 wrote: »

of what sort??

roads cut from, I think 45e/metre to 30, not 100% sure on it though