Election Candidate Cllr Heather Humphreys says the delay in payments to farmers is having a devastating effect on those who are already struggling to get by on low incomes.“The average farm income is estimated at €16,500, this is the equivalent of only half of the average industrial wage. It’s obvious that farmers already have their backs to the wall in terms of financial constraints and yet I frequently get calls from farmers informing me of non payments, whether it be for REPS 4 or the Single Farm Payment. This can’t be allowed to continue.”

Cllr Humphreys cites inefficiencies in the system along with, what she described as the “gross over regulation” endured by farmers, as the reasons for delays in payments. She said Fine Gael proposals would help to ensure an all round better, fairer system for farmers.

“The Department of Agriculture has traditionally acted as a payment processing facility rather than a driver of growth in the agri-food industry, under FG proposals the responsibility for agri-payments will move to a new one-stop-shop under our Reinventing Government proposals.”

“The level of over regulation is another matter that needs to be urgently dealt with. I see it regularly with my own husband – the amount of form filling, red tape and bureaucracy that he, like every other farmer, has to go through is staggering, it’s obvious that applications need to be simplified.”

Cllr Humphreys stated that many of the issues having a detrimental effect on farming could be solved with what she described as “a more practical and common-sense approach.”

“Take for example the area of calendar farming whereby one cannot spread slurry until Feb 1^st, regardless of the weather. This year was a perfect example of the nonsense in the idea as the last two weeks of January was great weather while the first fortnight in February has been a washout. It just isn’t practical given the unpredictable nature of our weather.”

Cllr Humphreys contended that the issue of AEOS (Agri Environment Option Scheme) needed to be examined. She said that that her party will investigate the possibility of expanding the scheme to those farmers locked out of it following the conclusion of their REPS 3 contracts.

Cllr Humphreys finished on the issue of the Fine Gael Fair Trade Act, which she said would also help to ensure that farmers got a fair price for their produce.

“It is our policy to ban the unfair trading practices in the retail sector such as ‘hello money’ which suppliers have to pay to get their goods on supermarket shelves. It is simply not acceptable to have a situation where currently the pig farmer only gets 17% of what the housewife pays for the bacon.”

Cllr Humphreys concluded by stating that if she was successful in the upcoming election, she would be a strong voice in Dail Eireann for farmers.

“I was reared on a farm in the village of Drum just outside of Cootehill and I’m now married to a farmer in Aghabog so I have first hand experience of the difficulties facing the farming community. It is my pledge that if elected as a TD in a Fine Gael government, I will work to the utmost of my ability to represent the interests of farmers across the Cavan/Monaghan region.”