| IFA Grant survey Findings |
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| Written by Cian MacSweeny | |
| Thursday, 26 June 2008 | |
 The IFA President Padraig Walshe has said that the end of year deadline is unrealistic given the considerable investment that is required on Irish farms to meet the requirements of the Nitrates directive. Mr. Walshe has requested that the Government put in place flexible arrangements to permit any farmer who has started work to be eligible for the 60% grant when work is finished. According to IFA estimates, about 33,000 farmers are either in the process of doing work or wish to begin the work soon. But for various reasons around 10,000 of these farmers will not have completed work come the end of the year. The IFA survey shows that the main reasons for this non-completion are a lack of availability of builders, difficulty in raising finance, the timeframe for completion of work being too tight and shortage of building materials. Mr. Walshe said obtaining flexible arrangements for farmers who will be looking to complete work under the FWM is a priority issue for IFA in the partnership talks, which have already commenced. IFA Rural Development Chairman Tom Turley said that these findings highlight the need for such a scheme with up to 97% of farmers who have received approval expected to finish work under the scheme. Also, the farmers who applied between the 22nd and the 31st October 2007 closure date, up to 98% would begin work if they got the Department of Agriculture approval. The survey was carried out by the IFA over the phone, interviewing over 300 farmers who have applied for the Farm Waste Management and the Farm Improvement Scheme. It also included farmers who were surveyed at the IFA stand at last week’s Farm Fest Teagasc Open Day in Athenry, Co. Galway.      |