Macra meets Taoiseach at Social Partnership
28 October 2009
Macra meets Taoiseach at Social Partnership
Macra na Feirme national president Michael Gowing attended a meeting on the country’s Economic and Budgetary outlook delivered by the Taoiseach Brian Cowen to the Social Partnership farming pillar on Tuesday October 27th . During the meeting Mr. Gowing strongly emphasized the fact that farmers had suffered significant cuts in schemes and supports to date and he outlined a number of areas where Government support is critical for the future of the rural economy.
Mr. Gowing said young farmers are vital to our Agricultural economy, they are our greatest asset and need to be supported through a combination of schemes, reliefs and incentives to facilitate them to establish in farming and address the age imbalance with only 7% of farmers under 35.
Mr. Gowing said the role of education goes hand in hand with addressing the age imbalance and making Irish Agriculture highly competitive. He called for financial support for Teagasc the Agriculture and Food Development Authority in the delivery of agriculture education, especially with the increase in student numbers in agricultural college.
On the issue of transport, Mr. Gowing called for continuing state support for the Rural Transport program which serves as a vital function in combating isolation and social exclusion in rural areas and allows rural people access vital services.
Finally, Mr. Gowing called on the Taoiseach and the Government to show leadership and to not once again turn its back on Irish farmers.
