Jump in farmers on welfare
Agriculture in Ireland is suffering a major crisis with over 10,000 farmers seeking social welfare payments, Fine Gael has warned the Government.
The party’s agriculture spokesperson Michael Creed says recent figures show 8,681 people are in receipt of farmers’ welfare, known as Farm Assist, with 1,771 waiting for claims to be dealt with.
This is a significant jump of almost 30pc, from 7,444 in 2008, in farmers requiring assistance.