Allister warns Gildernew on Voluntary Modulation
05 June 2007
Jim Allister MEP has warned Michelle Gildernew that radical thinking is needed in voluntary modulation deliberations to avoid farmers livelihoods being put at risk.
‘Nothing less than a complete reversal on David Cairn’s voluntary modulation announcement, of 7% in 2007, rising to 10% in 2011 and 2012 will suffice at a time when Single Farm Payment receipts are at least as important as market returns to farmers livelihoods.’
‘It is not acceptable that farmers should be expected to support directly certain social measures, such as the provision of basic rural services and rural tourism by losing a portion of their single farm payment. It is surely time for Rural Development to be mainstreamed within core Government funding, and given the resources it deserves.’
‘I hope the Minister will have fully explored alternative avenues of funding from other Government Departments, in an attempt to avoid lumping the burden onto an industry already under immense pressure’.
