The Government is ‘working massively hard’ for farmers, the Agriculture Minister has insisted.
Charlie McConalogue was speaking after the new Irish Farmers Association (IFA) President Francie Gorman yesterday warned that the Government has failed farmers.
Speaking at the 69th IFA Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Dublin, Mr Gorman said Minister McConalogue and his department have "not lived up to their side of the bargain" with schemes to support farmers.
"This has been an abject failure of this minister, his department, and this Government,” he said.
"The delay in payments through the ACRES scheme and the TAMS scheme to support farmers in such initiatives as building more nutrient storage and erecting solar panels is an abject failure by the Minister and his officials,” Mr Gorman said.
On Newstalk Breakfast, Minister McConalogue rejected the criticism.
"I certainly don't agree with Francie in relation to that," he said.
"I think it's fair to say that it's always the role of farm representative organisation to keep Government's feet to the fire.
"I've never yet heard a representative organisation say to a Minister or the Government, 'That's OK, you're doing enough now you can go a bit easier'.
"It'll always be the case that they'll be putting it up to us and keeping the pressure on, and rightly so, that's their role.
"I think any fair assessment would show that both I as Minister and indeed this Government have worked massively hard and have delivered for farmers, for the agricultural sector and for farm families".
'Focus on the farming'
Minister McConalogue said there have been some "significant" developments on the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Climate Action Plan.
"My key message to the IFA AGM yesterday was that I want this year to have the focus on the farming and the great work the farmers are doing.
"Now that the policy development's happened over the last two or three years, [I want] to actually get on with that work and to back farmers and to advocate and make clear the massively important work the farmers are doing".
The 69th AGM of the Irish Farmers Association took place yesterday in Dublin.
