9th December 09

ICMSA WELCOME BUDGET'S ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE CRITICAL ROLE AGRICULTURE WILL PLAY IN ECONOMIC RECOVERY

ICMSA President, Jackie Cahill, welcomed the €50 million interim measure allocated to farmers exiting REPS 3 in 2010 which will be paid out at the rate of €5,000 per farmer. This precise measure had been included in ICMSA’s pre-Budget submission and farmers would particularly welcome the inclusion of capital depreciation in the definition of income in 2010 and 2011 when the new social levy kicks in. Mr Cahill said that though the Minister was to be commended for leaving untouched the current rates of payment under REPS, Disadvantaged Areas and Suckler Schemes, the reality was that these schemes had already been savaged in previous budgets. ICMSA was delighted to see that their submission on the need for an independent ombudsman to specifically look at the question of credit and financing terms has been accepted and acted upon and all farmers would welcome Minister Lenihan’s acknowledgement of the critical role agriculture can and will play in the national economic recovery.

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