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‘Huge disappointment’ for farmers as details of REAP revealed Reporter:  '); Farming organisations have said they are stunned and disappointed by the details of the Results-Based Environment Agri Pilot Programme (REAP) while others have described the pilot as a “damp squib”. Speaking after a meeting with the Department of Agriculture last week, IFA rural development chairperson, Michael Biggins said the details of REAP are a “damp squib”. He said that after the all the hype, the Department confirmed that the budget for the new scheme for 2021 will only be €10m, out of the �...

April 13, 2021 3:10 pm The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is “not responding quickly enough” to rising building costs, especially steel, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has claimed. According to the organisation, the increases are having a knock-on effect on items such as low emission slurry spreading (LESS) equipment and meal bins, which is adding significantly to costs for farmers doing Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) work. Commenting on the matter, IFA Rural Development Committee chairman Michael Biggins said: “Delays in issuing approvals, cou...

The “drip feeding” of details regarding the “much-hyped so-called ‘REPS-2’ scheme” has been described as “a complete sham”, by IFA president Tim Cullinan. The farm leader’s stinging criticism of the proposed new agri-environmental scheme – which was originally described as a programme that would be similar to the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS) – follows the emergence of the latest details on the pilot this week. Speaking at the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee meeting Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said the scheme would be paid on ...

IFA president Tim Cullinan. / Philip Doyle The much-hyped REPS II scheme is a complete sham compared with its predecessor, IFA president Tim Cullinan has said. Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue told the Sligo IFA AGM on Monday night that the pilot scheme would be paid on a farmer’s first 10ha and would have an average payment of €4,700 under the scheme, with a potential maximum of just under €7,000. At the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee, the Minister said there would also be some costs on farmers under the new scheme due to its results-based nature. “Slowly but surely the...

EU Financial Services Commissioner, Mairead Mc Guinness. The IFA, led by president Tim Cullinan, met with European Financial Services Commissioner Mairead McGuinness, who, in response to council queries spoke about Mercosur, Farm to Fork and banking. While the commissioner is responsible for a financial portfolio in the Commission, she has a long-established interest in agriculture through family involvement in farming and being a previous member of the agriculture committee in the European Parliament prior to becoming a commissioner. In welcoming the Commissioner, the IFA president flagged ...