The Labour Party has proposed a package of measures for rural Ireland, including the establishment of an Irish organic label, the reduction of rates for certain village shops and the abolition of fur farms.
Unveiling A Quality Future For Rural Ireland, Labour's agriculture spokeswoman, Dr Mary Upton, said the party was proposing a 21-point plan that centred around quality food production and quality of life.
If the Labour Party got into government, it would aggressively market the quality of Irish goods and establish an organic label "to do for organic agriculture what Kerrygold has done for conventional agriculture".
"We will demand accurate and concise labelling of all imported and home produced foods, so that there is a level playing field for producer and consumer. And we will make it harder for people who abuse animals to get away with it," Dr Upton said.
The plan calls for the return of the rural affairs portfolio to the Department of Agriculture. It is currently part of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
Dr Upton said this was a "rag bag of different parts of departments that were cobbled together" and it made more sense to have rural development with the Department of Agriculture.
She also called for a permanent bio-security unit to deal with issues such as avian flu and foot-and-mouth disease.
"I don't think it's enough to have a committee called in just as we think we are going to have a crisis."
The party would also introduce a mandatory 50 per cent rate relief for village shops, pubs or garages if they were the last three in their local communities. "You have villages being decimated where people are moving out because they can't afford the rates. The rates in rural Ireland in small villages are often almost as expensive as in Dublin and it's a disincentive," Dr Upton said.
Meanwhile, Kildare Labour deputy Jack Wall called for a greater effort to find something to replace the income lost by beet farmers when the sugar factories closed.
He said the closure of the Carlow and Mallow plants had created a "huge vacuum" and there had been a total lack of investment in alternatives such as bio-energy crops.
Calling for a ban on fur farms, Dr Upton said there were only about 50 people involved in fur farming in the State. "There's a serious animal welfare issue there. But it's not something that's going to damage our economy very significantly."
She said there was broad agreement with Fine Gael on many of the proposals made but both parties would soon be presenting a joint agricultural document.
Meanwhile, she said the weekend polls showing a surge in support for Fianna Fáil was "disappointing". However, she did not believe that this reflected the real situation.
The extension of the school milk programme to include a daily piece of fruit and the extension of the free-meal scheme to more children.
Labour's vision: the proposals
A 50 per cent rate relief for certain shops, pubs and garages in rural communities.
The extension of the rural transport initiative to all rural areas.
The provision of extra childcare, training and education measures for women who experience poverty.
Farmers planning to grow genetically modified crops should be responsible for securing comprehensive insurance against any contingencies which might arise.
New policies to encourage farm consolidation to make holdings more viable.
Labour is considering the introduction of a maximum payment threshold in the Rural Environment Protection Scheme so that larger farmers do not get all the payments.
Source: A Quality Future for Rural Ireland: Labour's 21-point plan.
