CUTS IN agriculture under “An Bord Snip Nua” will cost the economy €431 million, more than 12,300 jobs and when social welfare payments are made will cost €36 million more than the proposed savings, the Irish Farmers’ Association said yesterday.
An IFA document said in addition to the cuts there would be damage to the rural environment, rural society, and it would push forward the prospect of land abandonment, and the erosion of rural communities.
The analysis of the cuts said the proposed cuts to farm schemes in the McCarthy report came to a total of €204 million.
Yet when social welfare payments of €240 million were made, then the cuts would cost €36 million more than what was proposed in savings.
Across the main sectors of farming, it estimated there would be a total loss of 12,324 jobs; 6,863 in the beef sector, 1,867 in the sheep sector, 633 in the dairy sector, and 2,962 in direct jobs when the schemes involved are closed.
“This represents the potential destruction of almost 3,000 jobs at a salary of €35,000 per annum,” the IFA paper said.
“The main impact of the proposed cuts will not be the short-term direct job losses, but rather the long-term effect on output in the agriculture sector, the consequent job losses in the rural economy, and increased social welfare requirements.”
In the livestock sector, the IFA estimated farmers were facing income cuts of 40 per cent because of the cuts in the rural environmental protection scheme (Reps), the suckler cow payments, and disadvantaged areas payments.
“The suckler beef-breeding population is currently 1.17 million. The proposed cuts could result in a reduction, over a period of a number of years, of up to 350,000 animals, or 30 per cent of the national herd,” it predicted.
It said the potential implications for national income and employment were very serious:with a reduction in output earnings of a minimum €350 million,reduction in employment in meat plants of 2,200, and the loss of 20,000 herds. “There will be an overall increase in unemployment in the rural economy of up to 7,000, and the estimated number of farmers going on farm assist could be 5,100, at a cost of €64 million.”
In the sheep sector, it said up to 20 per cent of the flock or 420,000 animals could be lost, with a drop of over 500,000 lambs. The potential implications for national income and employment were a reduction in output earnings of €39 million; a reduction in employment in meat plants of over 200, a reduction of 5,600 flocks, and an overall increase in unemployment in rural economy of up to 1,900. It estimated the number of farmers going on farm assist at 1,400, at an exchequer cost of €17 million.
In the dairy sector, the predictions were that 20 per cent of dairy farmers in Reps would exit the business, or 10 per cent of all dairy farms.
The potential implications for the sector were a loss of 100 jobs in dairy processing, a drop in earnings of €44 million, 1,900 fewer dairy herds, and an increase in rural unemployment of 600.
Here it estimated the number of farmers going on farm assist would be 475, at an exchequer cost of €5.9 million.
It added the the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) estimated that there were 2,640 workers whose livelihoods depended on Reps.