CORK County Council has committed to preparing a report on the importance of agriculture to the local economy, at the request of a number of councillors at this week’s full council meeting, the first to be held after the summer break.
Speaking on Monday, Cllr Alan Coleman claimed that the last economic report was prepared in 2014, and 2025 was ‘a much more worrying time for agriculture. Progress over the last 100 years had gone hand-in-hand with the development of our communities, but now it is under threat.
‘The dairy industry is being pushed off the fields and into sheds,’ Cllr Coleman stated.
‘Tillage is very unsustainable. It is totally dependent on support from the single farm payment at the moment.’
Cllr Bernard Moynihan, Kanturk, and Cllr Ian Doyle, Charleville, suggested this report be prepared in conjunction with University College Cork, Munster Technology University, and Teagasc, focusing on how to advance the sector and support the rural economy. Cllr Moynihan claimed that the loss of derogation would cost the Cork economy €130m. If pharmaceuticals in the county were faced with such a loss, he said, it would be ‘plastered all across the media’, and continued to claim that 21% cut in CAP funding will also ‘cause havoc’ among farm families, while also criticising the Mercosur trade deal.
Claiming that the ‘wealth and progression’ of the country is intrinsically linked with farming, Cllr Moynihan suggested the local authority had a role to speak out on its behalf. Cllr John Michael Foley listed all of the co-operatives who are celebrating 100 years in business, including Lisavaird and Barryroe, and the industries they have spawned.
‘Agriculture is the backbone of all rural communities and the uncertainty around derogation, CAP and Mercosur is the biggest worry at the moment. Thousands of farm families depend on agriculture, while food tourism also creates a lot of employment in rural Ireland,’ he added. Bandon councillor Gillian Coughlan said the council, as a local authority, ‘should make ourselves more available to the farming community.’ Agreeing, Mallow councillor Pat Hayes said that agriculture ‘is the cornerstone of Cork county. The exports that come from agriculture are massive, and our towns and villages would not survive without agriculture.’
Finally, Cllr John Collins warned that ‘People have short memories: when bankers sold this country down the swanny, without our famers we would have been done.’
