IFA Pigs Committee Chairman Mr Michael Maguire, commenting on the closure of the sow welfare grant said that this was a further blow to the Irish pig industry by Minister Coughlan’s department. This scheme has been closed early with the department stating that the monetary allocation has been fully subscribed; however some farmers through no fault of their own have not had the opportunity to apply for this grant aid.

Mr Maguire said “this grant which was for the conversion of breeding sow accommodation was introduced to assist pig producers to meet increased welfare standards laid down by the EU Commission.

The pig’s committee chairman stated categorically “Minister Coughlan is fully aware of the plight that pig farmers find themselves in with the massive increases in feed prices. IFA have informed the Department of Agriculture on several occasions that pig farmers were finding it difficult to draw down capital investment loans to make necessary legislative improvements to their units for both the Nitrates Directive and the welfare legislation”.

"I had expected maximum flexibility from the Department of Agriculture regarding applications for this scheme considering the current crisis in the industry. There was an initial 2-year delay introducing the scheme by the DAFF. This delayed the conversion process to welfare housing when pig farmers were in a profit-making situation." continued Mr Maguire

The Department of Agriculture should have recognized that with pig farmers losing up to a massive €25/pig it was of paramount importance that this scheme would be extended. However it is clear that due to negative returns from pigs, farmers will be forced to exit the industry rather than carry out these costly conversions” concluded Mr Maguire.

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