IFA Forestry News FINAL · Farmers Journallivestock editor Justin McCarthy travelled to ... IFAtook the case for a ban on imports of ... Areas of Natural Constraint (Disadvantaged

Strong Representation in Europe - moreimportant than ever for Irish FarmersDear Member,

With over €1.5b per year in EU directpayments to Irish farmers and crucialdecisions on trade deals withBrazil/Mercosur and the US, market access,retail regulation, CAP bureaucracy andmid-term review, and Climate Change, Ibelieve it is more important than ever thatIrish farmers are strongly represented at theheart of EU decision-making in Brussels.

It is forty years since IFA established apermanent office in Brussels after Ireland’sEEC entry in 1973. That move marked aclear determination by IFA to ensure that Irishfarmers would reap the full rewards of EECmembership, in terms of market access,lifting Irish prices up to European levels andbenefiting from vital Rural Developmentsupports and grant schemes for on farminvestment and Less Favoured Areas.

Over the past four decades, countlesscampaigns have been fought on GreenPound devaluations, intervention support, aidsto private storage, export refunds and winningkey livestock premiums and direct paymentsunder the MacSharry CAP reform.

The Ciolos reform negotiations of the pastfour years were a massive challenge for IFAand Irish farmers. However, the outcome was:- A 30% cut in the CAP budget was

blocked- A flat-rate SFP payment and

regionalisation were prevented and - Important flexibility was secured with

Irish farmers benefiting from €1.2b in SFPpayments and an average of €580m peryear for farm schemes under the RDP, ofwhich €313m is EU money.

These results could not have been deliveredwithout strong resources, relentless IFAlobbying and the support from IFAmembers. As when 20,000 farmersmarched on Government Buildings in Dublinin 2012. When thousands protested outsideMinister Coveney’s constituency office in Corkand when Commissioner Ciolos visited DublinCastle in the final stages of the CAPnegotiations.

I want to thank the generations of IFAvoluntary officers and members who havecontributed to our success in Europe over thepast 40 years.

I have dicussed the importance of winningthe Agriculture and the RuralDevelopment portfolio in the new EUCommission with our Taoiseach EndaKenny and have lobbied our colleagues inother member states for support.

As we face into the next five years under anew Commission and Parliament, thereare many serious issues of concern to Irish

farmers. I give you an absolutecommitment to continue to direct the fullresources of our Association and to buildon our strong record of delivery in Europe.

Eddie DowneyIFA President

IFA - 40 years of delivering in Europe

Four-year IFA campaign against Commissioner Ciolos’s CAP Reform proposals: As part of the campaign, IFA mounted a 5,000-strong protest last year when Cioloscame to Dublin for critical negotiations with the EU Council of Farm Ministers. IFA keptup the political pressure on Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney and successfullyresisted Ciolos’s plans for flat SFP and greening payments and regionalisation, thatwould have devastated the incomes of thousands of Irish farmers.

In discussion with Irish Commissioner-designate Phil Hogan: IFA President EddieDowney and General Secretary Pat Smith brief Phil Hogan on farming issues. IFA isbacking Ireland’s campaign to secure the critical Agriculture and Rural Development brief.

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IFA - Delivering through the Decades

IFA establishes full-time office in BrusselsIFA President TJ Maher (who was President of NFA and then IFA from1967 to 1976) leads an IFA delegation to Brussels to negotiate on behalfof Irish farmers.

The IFA was the first national organisation to open a full-time office in Brussels whenIreland joined the EEC in 1973. IFA’s then Chief Economist Alan Dukes was appointed theAssociation’s first Director of European Affairs in Brussels, a position he held beforeentering national politics. From the start, IFA campaigned hard to secure the full benefits of European membership for Irish farmers, in the early years through Presidents Paddy Lane, Donie Cashman and Joe Rea.

GATT trade threat highlightedIFA President Alan Gillis (1990-1994) leads the Irishcontingent in a major farming, co-op and agribusinessprotest in Brussels against European concessions inGATT, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade,which was the forerunner to the World TradeOrganisation.

IFA President Tom Clinton (1988-90) first identified the huge threatto Irish agriculture from the trade talks. IFA was to the fore inmobilising European farm organisations in resisting attempts todismantle the CAP, allow import concessions and impose worldprices on European producers. Frequent protests in Brusselscomplement the work of the IFA office and the attendance of voluntary officers at EUCommission Advisory Committees, COPA and in direct representations to EU officials.

IFA Superlevy campaign secures extra quotaIFA President Donie Cashman (1980-1984) and Deputy President HughRyan challenge the Minister for Finance Alan Dukes and the Ministerfor Agriculture Austin Deasy, at an IFA protest in Brussels on theimportance of milk production to Ireland, as part of the Association’sSuperlevy campaign.

IFA undertook a major campaign to show that our dairy industry was so important tothe Irish economy that it was a ‘vital national interest’. The Taoiseach Garret Fitzgeraldwas convinced by IFA’s arguments and the milk reform negotiations went to the EUHeads of Government Summit in Brussels in March 1984, where Dr Fitzgeraldthreatened to use the veto.As a result of the IFA campaign, there was no retrospective cut in Ireland’s production,which was set at the 1983 levels plus an exceptional amount of 4.6% was given toIreland in recognition of our vital interest in milk. The increased value in Irish milkoutput over the following 30 years was worth over €5 billion.

70s

80s

Working closely with FrenchfarmersIFA European Director Michael Treacy, FrenchPresident Jacques Chirac, IFA President JohnDonnelly (1994-1998) and French farmers’ union(FNSEA) President Luc Guyau.

While IFA works with all like-minded farm organisationsacross Europe, IFA’s alliances with the FNSEA on a number ofmajor issues – CAP Budget, trade, and producer support -have been most important over the past 40 years. TheFrench have always strongly supported family farming and IFAhas consistently worked very closely with their farm leaders.

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Negotiating the Fischler ReformIFA European Director Michael Treacy,Commissioner Franz Fischler, IFA President JohnDillon (2002-2006) and General Secretary MichaelBerkery during the negotiations on the FischlerReform.

IFA developed a close rapport with Fischler, who wascommitted to the European model of family farming. Thereform resulted in the conversion of livestock premia andproduction-linked payments into the new decoupled SingleFarm Payment, which reflected the farmer’s work and activityin the preceding years.

Mercosur protestIFA President John Bryan (2010-2014) led aprotest of farmers at the EU Commission officesin Dublin in 2011 denouncing efforts by the EUCommission to conclude a trade deal with Braziland other South American countries in theMercosur talks.

Brazil banIFA Livestock Chairman John Bryan, Livestock Director Kevin Kinsella andFarmers Journal livestock editor Justin McCarthy travelled to Brazil twiceto collect evidence on the unacceptable lack of EU-equivalent controlsand standards in the Brazilian beef sector.

Led by President Padraig Walshe, IFA took the case for a ban on imports of Brazilianbeef to the European Parliament Agriculture Committee and the campaign resulted in aban on Brazilian beef imports and much tighter controls.

Opposing damaging WTO deals10,000 farmers protested at Leinster House in Dublinin April 2008, as part of a major IFA campaign ofopposition to the negotiating stance of EU TradeCommissioner Peter Mandelson in the WTO talks.

Starting with President Tom Parlon (1998-2002), IFA mountedfierce resistance to the WTO talks which threatened to sell-outEuropean agriculture.

The Stop Mandelson IFA protest sent a strong signal to the IrishGovernment and the EU Commission that farmers would not accepta trade deal that would destroy their livelihoods and costthousands of jobs. IFA’s opposition and other factors ultimately ledto the collapse of the talks in Geneva in July, where IFA PresidentPadraig Walshe (2006-2010) represented Irish farmers.

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Defending Irish Farmers’ interests in Europe

While the Chairmen of all IFA’s NationalCommittees and Sections are involved inrepresenting Irish farmers in Europe, ourmain representatives are set out here, ledby the President Eddie Downey andGeneral Secretary Pat Smith, showing theChairmen (pictured) and supporting staff.

All farmer voluntary officers have theprofessional back-up of IFA expert stafffrom head office in Dublin and Brussels,who are well versed in European policy andagricultural markets.

European Director Michael Treacy, AssistantGeneral Secretary Bryan Barry and ChiefEconomist Rowena Dwyer also inputdirectly into COPA’s CAP Policy Group.

IFA’s democratic structure, representingfarmers in all commodities and all regions,means that IFA is recognised by the EU asthe voice of Irish farmers in Brussels.

In fact, IFA is represented on over 50policy and market analysis workinggroups/committees at EU andInternational level. This includesrepresentation on:

EU Commission’s AdvisoryGroups

These involve high-level meetings

directly with the AgricultureCommissioner on the CAP and alsocommittees on individual commoditiesand areas such as Rural Development,Areas of Natural Constraint (Disadvantaged Areas), Aquaculture andthe Environment. These committees are made up of keyEU Commission officials andrepresentatives of consumers, agribusiness, environmental, animalwelfare/wildlife and social groups, aswell as farmers. While the Advisory Committeesprovide a useful forum for influencingCommission policy, IFA must also ensurethe farmers’ interests are activelydefended in the face of pressures andscrutiny from many diverse interests.

COPA, the European Farmers’Organisation

The President and General Secretarysit on the powerful COPA Praesidium,which meets on a monthly basis todiscuss and decide European farmers’strategy and policy. The Chairmen of IFA’s NationalCommittees and expert staff aremembers of a wide range of COPAWorking Parties on all the commodityand policy areas in which Irish farmershave an interest.

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CAP & COPA PraesidiumEddie DowneyPat SmithMichael Treacy

BeefHenry BurnsKevin Kinsella

MilkSean O’LearyCatherine Lascurettes

SheepJohn LynskeyKevin Kinsella

PigmeatPat O’FlahertyAmii McKeever

CerealsLiam DunneFintan Conway

PotatoesEddie DoyleElaine Farrell

Rural DevelopmentFlor McCarthyGerry Gunning

Animal HealthBert StewartTomas Bourke

PoultryNigel RenaghanRobert Malone

FeedingstuffsJames McCarthyFintan ConwayAmii McKeever

ForestryMichael FlemingGer O’Sullivan

EnvironmentHarold KingstonThomas Ryan

HorticultureGerard ReillyElaine Farrell

WomenMaura CanningGer O’Sullivan

Running parallel to these formal structures,IFA officers and staff have regular bilateralmeetings with the EU AgricultureCommissioner, members of his cabinet andkey Commission officials, who develop policyproposals and implementation regulations.

Parliament

IFA is also engaged in direct lobbying of alleleven Irish MEPs and the AgricultureCommittee of the European Parliament inBrussels and Strasbourg, because theParliament and the Council of Ministers areco-legislators for agriculture.

Council

IFA maintains a presence at all Council ofMinisters’ meetings where Farm Ministersmeet with the Commissioner on policy andmarket issues.

International

Outside of Europe, IFA is a member of theWorld Farmers’ Organisation which is animportant forum for farmers from all themajor global trading blocs and thedeveloping countries to come together anddiscuss issues of common concernparticularly in the areas of the WTO, bilateraltrade negotiations and UN initiatives onclimate change.

Your Team in Europe Today


IFA Work Agenda in EuropeIFA has a very broad work agenda inBrussels and internationally aimed atdefending the interests of Irish farmersacross all sectors and regions.

CAP IssuesCAP Implementation – IFA is working toensure that all available funding underboth the Single Farm Payment (Pillar I)and Rural Development (Pillar II) is fullyutilised to support farm incomes andproduction across Ireland.

CAP Mid-Term Review & FutureDirection – IFA is working to defend theCAP Budget and keeps pressure onpoliticians to ensure the CAP remainsfocused on its founding principles of foodsecurity and high standards forconsumers, and fair prices for producers.

Young Farmers’ and National Reserves– Flexibility on criteria to ensure allqualified farmers with appropriateeducation and experience have access.

Greening – Further flexibility for tillagefarmers including on permanent pasture.

Market Supports – The EU Commissionhas to make full and speedy use ofintervention, private storage aid, exportrefunds and the crisis fund in order toanticipate and head off significant marketdown turns.

Price Volatility – The EU must promotethe use of new management tools suchas fixed price contracts, hedging and taxbased solutions to help farmers deal withproduct price volatility in milk and grainand input price volatility in feed andfertiliser.

Sheep Payments – Restoration of SheepGrassland funding to €18m andprotection of this payment to sheepfarmers.

Eligible Land – Farmers who applied forArea Aid in good faith must not be subjectto retrospective penalties.

Trade Deals & WTO – IFA is stronglyresisting damaging trade deals withBrazil/Mercosur or the US and fightinghard to exclude all imports of beef,pigmeat, poultry or other products whichdo not meet strict EU standards.

Live Exports – IFA is the strongestdefender at EU and international level ofthe need for a vibrant live export trade,which is essential for price competition andto maximise market outlets both within theEU and to third countries.

Retail Dominance – IFA is calling for EUregulation of retailers to rebalance powerin the food chain and ensure suppliers andproducers are treated fairly.

County of Origin Labelling – IFA is callingfor stronger regulations and their extensionto ham and bacon products to ensureclarity on the origin of product so thatconsumers are not misled.

Animal Health Regulations – The EUmust protect our disease status as regardsimports from third countries and notincrease costs and controls on farmers.

Sheep Identification – IFA is resistingany move to require electronic ID tagsfor sale to factories and marts.

Calendar Farming – IFA is pressing forflexibility for member states toimplement the nitrates regulationsbased on best farming practices ratherthan rigid desk based calendar dates.

Environmental Designations – IFA isdemanding that farmers must be fullycompensated for as long as farming andother restrictions apply.

Climate Change – IFA is working hardto ensure that Ireland’s sustainablemodel of food production is recognisedat EU level, so that our farming and foodindustry can realise its potential inhelping to meet the rising globaldemand for food.

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IFA chairs key EU Commission Beef Advisory Committee and highlightsdamaging impact of Trade concessions and the need for market access: IFANational Livestock Chairman Henry Burns, who is Chairman of Beef AdvisoryCommittee, IFA European Director Michael Treacy and Livestock Director KevinKinsella, together with French, Italian and Spanish members of the Committee.

Eddie Downey raises Irishfarmers’ issues with EUCommission SecretaryGeneral Catherine Day:Irish woman Ms Day is thehighest EU civil servant,overseeing the Commission’spolicy proposals across areasthat have a huge impact onIrish farmers includingEnvironment and ClimateChange, Trade, Single Marketand Competition, as well asAgriculture and RuralDevelopment.


How IFA’s European Campaigns are funded

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Nobody works harder for farmers

Compiled by: Bryan BarryAssistant General Secretary

IFA, The Irish Farm CentreBluebell, Dublin 12Telephone: 01 450 0266Email: [email protected]

IFA.ie

iFarm.ie

@IFAmedia

IFA Member Services Nobody works harder for farmers

Web

App


Michael Treacy

Liam MacHale

With the huge importance of EECmembership and the Common AgriculturalPolicy to Irish farmers, the EuropeanInvolvement Fund (EIF) was established inthe early 1970s, to provide IFA with the vitalfinancial resources needed to represent anddefend Irish farmers’ interests at Europeanand International level. That important workcontinues to this day.

IFA has three main sources of annualincome:

EIF levy - 35%- The EIF is collected on farm sales at

0.15% (15 cent per €100 in sales).- The EIF helps fund all IFA’s European

campaigns, and the professional backuprequired to support elected voluntaryofficers in defending the €1.5 billion paidto Irish farmers in direct supports fromEurope, under the SFP and RuralDevelopment schemes; and on crucialareas such as Trade, Environment andClimate Change.

- All farmers benefit equally andproportionately from IFA’s strong andconsistent record of delivery onEuropean issues.

Membership subscriptions - 50%- This income supports our IFA voluntary

Officer participation, our regionaloffices, County and Branch structure,Member Personal Accident & LiabilityInsurance, Communications(membership pack, newsletters,commodity texts, web etc), MemberSupport Services (Pieta House, Legalhelpline, Credit Advice, Direct payments& Inspections), Member Benefitsprogramme and all activity on NationalCampaigns, regional and local issues.

Other income sources - 15%- Other income including FBD Trust, IFA

Member Services, Agricultural Trust andIFAC provides the extra financialresources that enable the Associationfund all its activities at home andabroad and balance its books on anannual basis.

IFA greatly appreciates the valued supportof farm families thorough their membershipand EIF levy contributions. In 40 yearsrepresenting farmers in Europe, theseresources have allowed IFA deliver hugereturns to farmers and rural Ireland. IFA

After 25 years successfully representing Irish farmers inBrussels as IFA’s Director of European Affairs, MichaelTreacy steps down this autumn and will be succeeded byLiam McHale.

Liam joins IFA from Bord Bia, where he has worked since2006, first as Country Manager in Germany/Eastern Europeand more recently managing Italy, Switzerland and Greece.

A key part of his responsibility in Germany involved theimplementation of Bord Bia’s Irish Beef Strategy to growmarket share. In Italy, he focused on the development of asustainable premium position for Irish beef.

From Ballina, Co Mayo, Liam is educated to Masters ofBusiness Science level and speaks five continentallanguages, French, German, Italian, Czech and Portuguese, in addition to English.

Paying tribute to Michael Treacy, IFA President EddieDowney said he had played an outstanding role in all IFA’smajor European campaigns over the past 25 years. He hasgained huge influence and respect in Brussels. “ I amconfident that Liam will quickly build his own profile inBrussels and ensure that Irish farmers continue to bestrongly represented at the highest level.”

Michael Treacy hands over to Liam MacHale

also acknowledges Co-ops, Marts and Agri-business for their support for IFA’s work inEurope.

All IFA’s efforts are aimed at improving the

incomes and conditions of farm families.Your support, through both membershipand the EIF levy, enables IFA to workeffectively on your behalf and deliver onthe issues of the day. Thank you.

Austrian Farm Minister visits Irish Farm Centre to meet IFA: On a recent visit toIreland, Austrian Minister for Agriculture Andra Rupprechter (next to Eddie Downey)and Austrian Ambassador to Ireland Thomas Nader had constructive discussions withthe IFA leadership developing common ground on key issues including the futuredirection of the CAP, trade deals, retailer regulation, eligible land, bureaucracy andinspections, environmental designations and climate change.

August 2014


IFA Forestry News FINAL · Farmers Journallivestock editor Justin McCarthy travelled to ... IFAtook the case for a ban on imports of ... Areas of Natural Constraint (Disadvantaged

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