Feb 22nd, 2010

ICMSA say €580 per dairy farmer is "practically useless"

Commenting on the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 's announcement that a payment of €580 per dairy farmer will be made from the €11.5m Dairy Compensation Fund, Mr. Pat McCormack, Chairperson of ICMSA's Dairy Committee , described the payment as 'practically useless' and he pointed out that if farmers were to be truly compensated for the disaster that was 2009 – which was largely a result of incompetent national and EU policy – then a payment of €580 per dairy cow would be needed. Mr McCormack said that was the reality and the people who set dairy policy need to rapidly realise the extent of the crisis they had largely caused and make their minds up to change policy fundamentally while there was still time.

Mr McCormack said that a substantially improved milk price is needed for 2010 to bring dairy farming back to something approaching 'break-even' stability and to allow farmers to meet the many outstanding bills from 2009. 

 "We're very concerned that the policymakers at national and EU level do not realise the serious damage that has been done to the Irish dairy sector in 2009, the huge financial pressures on individual farmers , and the need for a very rapid improvement in milk price in order to stabilise the situation.  The €580 payment – limited as it is - should be paid out immediately even though it goes nowhere close to meeting farmer losses caused by the incompetent dairy policy foisted on us by these policymakers and farmer debt is growing by the day. To that extent, this €580 is practically useless. The current position is simply not sustainable and it requires permanent solutions from our Minister and the EU rather than crisis measures that will simply have to be repeated again and again ", stated the Dairy Committee chairman.

Given the uncertain conditions prevailing in the dairy market at this time, Mr McCormack said that what Irish farmers most need from our Minister and the EU Commission is a clear plan of action that will return dairy farming to profitability.   " We have yet to see this and time is running out for dairy farmers all over the country", concluded Mr McCormack.

Ends         22 February 2010.

Pat McCormack, 087-7608958

Chairman, ICMSA Dairy Committee

Or

Cathal MacCarthy, 087-6168758

ICMSA Press Office

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