Compensation: Beet farmers who want to exit the sector this year will not lose on their single farm compensatory payment, the Minister for Agriculture said last night.
Ms Coughlan was speaking after she met EU Agriculture Commissioner Fischer Boel yesterday to clarify this and a second issue which would impact on the inability of farmers to access EU compensation should they get out of the business.
In a statement, the Minister said that following a meeting in Brussels yesterday she intended to fix the reference years for single payment compensation for growers on production in the years 2001, 2002 and 2004.
This would mean that growers would not have to grow a crop this year for processing in September next year to access the €123 million which will be paid over the next seven years.
The Minister also confirmed that the requirement to deliver beet in the year preceding the year of quota renunciation in order to qualify for restructuring aid has now been removed from the draft regulations. This provides flexibility for member states which Ms Coughlan had sought.
The Minister said the Commission had clarified that sugar produced in the first year of the reform would be liable for the restructuring levy, but in the event of the quota being renounced for the second year, the levy would not be payable in that and subsequent years.
The Minister said that the total compensation available to Ireland to enable the sector adapt to the reform regime would be in excess of €310 million. She said decisions on other aspects of the compensation package would be made in due course in accordance with the regulations when adopted.
The news from the Minister makes the issue of whether or not there will be a beet crop grown here this year no clearer. It is still up to Greencore whether or not this will happen.
Farmers protesting outside the company's annual general meeting in Jury's Hotel, Ballsbridge yesterday were not optimistic that the company would offer a sufficiently high price for their crops. Around 150 growers took part in the low-key protest which was described as "a sad day for farmers" by the president of the Irish Farmers Association, Pádraig Walshe.
He rejected Greencore's claim for compensation for closure of its plant as "spurious" and said any compensation should go to growers, not the factory
"By closing Carlow factory prematurely, Greencore damaged Ireland's position in the EU negotiations. At the time, Greencore boss David Dilger justified the Carlow closure as a commercial decision in the best interests of Greencore shareholders," he said.
"Mr Dilger is on public record as stating: 'Our primary focus is not on compensation. Compensation is really of no interest to us'."
