15 January 2014 – The President of ICOS, Bertie O’Leary today welcomed the announcement of support of more than €12.5 billion in the CAP budget for farmers and the rural economy generally.  The announcement heralded the launch of the Department’s Proposed Measures for the National Rural Development Plan 2014-20.

“I welcome in particular the emphasis in the programme on supporting innovation and improving competitiveness. The farming and food sectors are facing particular challenges around delivery of the Food Harvest 2020 targets. We need to grow production and efficiency at farm level, while protecting incomes in rural areas.”

Mr O Leary said that the view of ICOS was that much work needed to be done to put flesh on the bones of the RDP proposals, but that, in general terms, an appropriate balance would seem to have had been struck in the realignment of direct payments to farmers whilst at the same time retaining a focus on supporting the sustainable development of the farming sector.

“This approach when allied with the proposed measures in respect of encouraging young people into farming, the support for capital investment for dairy equipment and the prioritising of knowledge transfer measures and measures to encourage collaborative farming are to be welcomed,”  he said.

He suggested that participation on the new Bord Bia Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme should be a qualifying and grant aided knowledge transfer measure. He emphasised that the low level of land mobility remains a key barrier to on farm efficiency and profitability. He welcomed the proposed support measure for partnerships or other collaborative arrangements.

The ICOS President also welcomed the focus on measures in the beef sector that would enhance quality and improve efficiency and profitability, but noted that without measures to ensure greater transparency and competition both within the beef sector and between the beef and livestock sectors, measures such as the new beef data and genomic scheme, would not of themselves, bring about the improvement’s required.

ICOS (the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society) represents co-operatives and organisations in Ireland – including the Irish dairy processing co-operatives and livestock marts – whose associated businesses have a combined turnover in the region of €12 billion, with some 150,000 individual members, employing 12,000 people in Ireland, and a further 24,000 people overseas.

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For further information contact; Seamus O’Donohoe, CEO , ICOS 087 2867349; seamus.odonohoe@icos.ie

Media Information:  Tim Kinsella, MKC Communications, 086 813 7512