A DOZEN Irish farmers' representatives were in Luxembourg with their IFA banner to greet the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Yates, when he arrived for the start of what is likely to be an exhausting Farm Council.
The IFA delegation, which had discussions with Mr Yates called for the targeting of increased BSE compensation, agreed at the Florence summit, at those hit hardest by the crisis, winter finishers, including both heifer and young bull producers.
The IFA president, Mr John Donnelly, said that while the overall package for Ireland of some £70 million was inadequate, the additional compensation would be a significant improvement if paid to those who suffered most.
Today the demonstration awaiting ministers is likely to be far larger and probably rowdier when French and other EU farmers turn up in their thousands to press the case for higher BSE compensation payments and a better farm price package.
The meeting, which started work last night on the long standing issue of reform of the fruit and vegetable market, is not expected to agree the BSE compensation deal and the related farm price package for next year until tomorrow. It will not be dealing at all with the British export ban or BSE eradication programme.
Mr Yates acknowledged that the overall ceiling for the compensation package set by the summit could not be improved on until negotiations started on next year's EU budget. But he said there was still a battle on to ensure that the allocation of the extra cash was done on the same basis as the original cash.
He also hoped that the extra cash would be paid in the form of a grant to national governments to use in the way they saw fit it might then be possible to give aid to heifer producers, he said.
At the weekend Florence summit, EU leaders agreed to increase the package of income compensation payments to their farmers from £520 million to £680 million. Ireland's share post Florence is likely to be increased by £10 million to some £68 million if the method of calculation is maintained that is based on the number of premium payments made last year, rather than the number of head of cattle.
Mr Yates will also be seeking changes in the rules covering what are called deseasonalisation payments these are payments to help spread slaughtering throughout the year and bring regularity of supply to the market. The danger is now that the Irish success in spreading its slaughtering throughout the year may make it ineligible under current rules.
