Mayo farmers chief wants clear Brexit plan

CLEAR and agreed plans are necessary to protect Irish food exports to the UK following the decision of the UK to leave the European Union.

The president of dairy specialist organisation the ICMSA, Ballyvary farmer John Comer, said the decision will have serious implications for all sectors of the Irish economy, including the agri-food sector, and the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed, and his Cabinet colleagues, need to put a clear plan in place to address the many issues likely to arise when the Brexit is finally negotiated with the EU.

Having met with the Department of Agriculture last week and having Minister Creedon at a national council meeting this week, the ICMSA is satisfied the department has identified all the issues from farm to processor to trading level that are likely to arise from Brexit.

However, Mr. Comer warned there is no room for any degree of complacency from here forward, not in the context of €5 billion in food exports to the UK - €1.1 billion of which is beef and €1 billion dairy produce.

“We need clear and agreed plans. It is important to emphasise that it will be at least two years before any of these issues become a reality, including any possible implications for farmer payments. But we need to be planning at this stage to ensure a smooth transition,” he said.

“To this end, ICMSA believes that the Minister should establish a coordinating group of department officials and industry stakeholders so that clear plans and strategies are identified and agreed at an early stage.”

In the short term, the implications are likely to focus on exchange rate movements and both the Irish government and the EU must understand that farmers cannot be expected to pay for any negative currency movements arising from the Brexit vote, he continued.

A Farm Council meeting is taking place today and plans need to put in place to protect farmers, he said. Farmers are already in a prolonged income crisis and cannot be expected to take additional punishment.

Brexit will have practical implications at farm level, particularly for farmers in border regions, for processors in terms of trade to the UK and also transit of products to continental Europe.

“It becomes a national priority to ensure that as Brexit negotiations begin and develop that access to the UK market is retained on the basis of current conditions and that Ireland’s dependence on the UK market is recognised and addressed. Irish farmers have a long history of trading with the UK and I have no doubt that this will continue into the future provided the UK and EU regulators maintain the proper trading environment.”