THE TAOISEACH said last night there had been “a lot of progress” in the talks with the social partners to find a solution to the current economic crisis.
However, when visiting the Irish Farmers’ Association’s annual general meeting at the Red Cow Hotel, he did not rule out the possibility of tax increases.
He said the problem could not be rectified by savings alone and he would await the outcome of the Commission on Taxation, which would be reporting later this year.
Asked if people should fear for the future, the Taoiseach said we did not need to be fearful if we were resilient and had faith in our own ability. “This recession will pass,” he said, and we can rebound from a position of strength, he told waiting journalists. He said there were real challenges which had to be faced and no sector could escape.
The Taoiseach was accompanied by Minister for Agriculture, Brendan Smith, who had earlier faced a barrage of questions from the IFA national council, especially on the issue of payment of farm waste management grants.
The Minister said last year €414 million had been paid out to farmers under the Farm Waste Management Scheme and payments to date under the revised scheme amounted to some €527 million in respect of 17,600 projects.
“The final cost of the scheme is still being assessed as some 40 per cent of total claims were received last month. I am currently in discussion with the Minister for Finance in relation to the provision of funding,” he said.
“I can say, of course, and I have indicated previously that all payment claims for work completed to the department’s specification, will be honoured.”
Mr Smith said he could not say exactly when the grants would be paid, but paid they would be.
He also refused to commit himself to the spending of extra money from the EU on the sheep sector but did say he wanted to help it and was aware of its problems.
In his address to the dinner, Mr Cowen spoke on the Lisbon Treaty, saying he was very pleased by the positive reaction of his colleagues in the European Council to the proposals that they should address Irish concerns in relation to the treaty.
“As farmers, you will be well versed in the benefits that have accrued to Ireland from membership of the EU. By 2013, we will have received some €53 billion in Cap funding from the EU.
“ The Cap has transformed the farming and food industry in this country since 1973. EU direct payments of the order of €1.9 billion annually remain critically important for farmers and for our agri-food sector.
“These funds are provided by tax-payers – overwhelmingly at EU level – and our payment controls must satisfy the EU regulatory requirements and be carried out in a transparent way. This can be done while continuing to focus on simplified scheme rules,’’ the Taoiseach said
“In this regard, you can be assured of Minister Smith’s commitment to implementation arrangements which are as simple as possible and clearly understandable to our farmers.”