By Dermot Keys
HUNDREDS of farmers in the Finn Valley area are facing financial ruin after the Government’s controversial decision to scrap the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS4) subsidy scheme for farmers.
The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has slammed the government’s decision and warned that farmers will lose millions of euros as a result. The government has closed the scheme and will not be taking any further applications.
“It’s terrible that the REPS4 has been closed,” said William Monagle, County Chairman of the IFA.
“I’ve never seen anything like the amount of anger out there. My phone hasn’t stopped all day.”
The scheme was a major source of income for many in the industry and the loss of REPS4 money will be a blow to many families. Dry-stock farmers look likely to be the worst-affected.
Farmers are expected to fight the decision, which has been criticised for targeting farmers on low incomes. There have been calls for the government to reverse its decision amid warnings that a failure to do so would lead to protests.
Agriculture Minister, Brendan Smith, has rejected the criticism by pointing out that farmers will still receive payments for the next five years.
The REPS scheme was originally introduced to encourage farmers to keep their farms in line with environmental standards by compensating them for their efforts.
The ISCA has also slammed the decision.