TAKING A STAND
Farmers rally at County Hall
FARMERS from around the county were given a standing ovation by Galway County Councillors on Monday afternoon after the IFA’s County Chairman addressed the plenary meeting.
Three giant-sized tractors parked at the steps of County Hall certainly caught passersby’s attention while the presentation from Corofin’s Stephen Canavan had all eyes and ears of the elected representatives.
Farmers couldn’t take any more cuts or extra bureaucracy, Mr Canavan warned, reiterating the IFA’s campaign call of ‘Enough is Enough’.
“We’re being asked to do more for a lot less,” said Mr Canavan, “and it’s getting harder and harder just to stand still.”
The farming way of life is being threatened due to over-regulation, he said. It wasn’t about form filling anymore, with the average age of a farmer now 59, and many not having any computer literacy; they had to employ agents to upload all the required information sought from them in order to get any payments.
Councillors were also told of Irish farmers’ disappointment at the decision of government party MEPs to break the whip and vote in favour of the controversial Nature Restoration Laws – something that other European countries were now starting to hit back against.
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