Tipperary farming: IFA president has a hop off Coolmore over CAP payments

IFA president Joe Healy has had a hop off the famous Coolmore Stud over CAP payments.

Mr Healy told the association's agm this Tuesday that CAP payments were meant for "genuine farmers" and not for the likes of Coolmore, sheikhs and beef barons.

"Defining a genuine farmer will be challenging, but we must take it on. CAP funding should go to genuine farmers. Sheikh Mohammad, Coolmore Stud, Larry Goodman and their likes are not ‘genuine farmers’. CAP direct payments can no longer be used to fund sheikhs and beef barons," he said.

Coolmore outside Fethard sits on 7,000 acres and is currently owned and run by the Magnier family.

Mr Healy said that payments should be used for farmers who are "up in the middle of the night to calve cows, lamb ewes and work around the clock to harvest crops".

The IFA leader said that ahead of the European Parliament elections, its clear message will be that there must be an increased CAP budget, with two elements: direct payments supporting active farmers, and a well-funded Rural Development Programme.

"No Irish commissioner or Minister for Agriculture could ever agree to a reduced budget. We need the budget increased to take account of inflation, and to compensate farmers for any further requirements imposed on them," he said.

Mr Healy said that the next CAP cannot result in farmers who were already struggling being made unviable.

Reducing the payments of other small and medium sized farmers - the squeezed middle - who had already suffered huge cuts made no sense, he said.

In relation to Brexit, Mr Healy said that with two months to the end of March, the Brexit turmoil had consumed the political system for almost three years.  In a process characterised by uncertainty, the one certainty was that it would be a disaster for Irish farming.

The backstop had to remain, he said, unless the UK adjusted its red lines and came forward with something better.

"We must continue to have unfettered access to our largest market," he said.

Mr Healy said that there was a very strong case to be made to the EU Commissioner, Phil Hogan, that we needed support. In recent weeks, Minister Creed finally recognised that beef farmers were "losing their shirts. Farmers needed €20 per head for every 5c per kilo reduction.