The creation of a Farm Assist Scheme worth £50 million to almost 14,000 low-income farmers may not be enough to persuade the Irish Farmers' Association to call off its "Winter of Discontent" campaign which brought 40,000 protesters to Dublin recently.
The IFA president, Mr Tom Parlon, said last night he was judging the Budget against the background of a severe income crisis in farming where 37,000 farm households have incomes below £150 a week.
"In this context, the announcement of the Farm Assist Scheme is a welcome development following an intensive campaign by the IFA for a realistic safety-net for low-income farm families," Mr Parlon said.
The IFA, he said, would be meeting the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, next week to seek the immediate implementation of the scheme, which is not due to be put in place until the middle of next year and to seek an increase in the Fodder Package which will help farmers to cope this winter.
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association president, Mr Frank Allen, said that while he welcomed the scheme, the Budget had been "a mixed bag for Irish farmers".
He said the scheme would have to be introduced immediately and this could be done by statutory instrument, rather than having to wait until June next for amendments to be made to the Social Welfare Act.
Details provided by the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs showed that the new scheme will do away with the requirement under the current scheme to "sign on" regularly.
Both representatives were highly critical of the Government's decision to increase the PAYE allowance because they claimed this discriminated against the self-employed, including farmers.
The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, said the Budget had also provided for an increase in the VAT rebate paid to farmers. This will go up from 3.6 per cent to 4.0 per cent from March 1st and will be worth £11 million to the farming community.
In addition, he said, the extension of the general stock relief for farmers, set at 25 per cent and which was due to expire on April 5th, was being renewed at the same level for a further two years, as was the stock relief provisions for young, trained farmers.
Farmers, he said, would also benefit from the whole range of social inclusion measures including the reduction in hospital waiting lists, old-age pension increases and improved arrangements for medical card holders over the age of 70.
He said he had moved a Supplementary Estimate for £35 million in the Dail yesterday to cover the fodder assistance scheme, worth £10 million and £6 million to cover the ewe depopulation scheme in the West. An additional £8 million had been set aside for headage payments for cattle and sheep.
He said the increases in the Book of Estimates to cover increased payments under the Rural Environment Protection Scheme and the reopening of the Control of Farmyard Pollution, Dairy Hygiene schemes and Installation Aid scheme, announced at the same time, meant there was a balanced package for farmers.
"We are preparing our commercial farmers to face the challenge of the next millennium and in the Budget, looking after the marginal farmers on low incomes," he said.