'Income, income, income' is the issue for farmers

The big issue is income, income, income, Francie Gorman, Laois County Chairman told the Minister for Agriculture at the Laois IFA meeting.

That was the case in every sector, he added.

“Laois was always a county that farming was well practiced in. We may not win any All Irelands but when it comes to farming we are up there with the very best of them.

“There is a level of frustration amongst our members, for example if you have cancelled health insurance because you can't afford it.

“It's about income on the table, people having an income so that they can rear their families and have a decent standard of living.

“We have seen that eaten away for 10 years since decoupling came in.

“For the past 6 to 12 months we have had poor cattle prices, a lack of support for the suckler sector and we are at the mercy of factories and co-ops.

“CAP reform is a big issue. No one is looking for a free lunch, but we are looking for fair play. .

If we are going to be able to complete post Brexit the cost of doing business has to be addressed. We can't be dependent on hoping to get what we want out of Europe. There needs to be a Brexit fund - new money put in place separate from CAP.”