The future is bright for Irish agriculture and rural Ireland – Deering

Fine Gael TD for Carlow/Kilkenny, Pat Deering, has welcomed the appointment of Ministers Michael Creed and Heather Humphreys in the roles of Agriculture and Rural Affairs respectively, saying that the future is bright for Irish agriculture and rural Ireland.

“I welcome the appointment of Michael Creed as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and I know that in his capable hands, the future is bright for Irish agriculture .

“Minister Simon Coveney laid the ground for really strong growth in Irish agriculture over the last few years and I look forward to that continuing.

“In particular I am hopeful about the new Food Wise 2025 initiative, which plans to increase the value of exports to €19 billion by 2025, with an additional 23,000 jobs being created in that sector, which will be hugely beneficial to rural Ireland. I know Minister Creed is particularly interested in this area and I look forward to the strategy being progressed to the benefit of rural Ireland.

“The appointment of a new senior Cabinet Minister for Rural Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht, also shows the Government’s intentions to revitalise every region of this country and ensure they benefit from the economic recovery.

“During the Celtic tiger years agriculture was a loss leader. Nobody wanted to talk about it and Fianna Fáil did not prioritise it. As the economy boomed we even lost a key element of the agriculture sector, namely, the sugar industry, which hit Carlow very hard. The repercussions of that decision are still evident in the towns across County Carlow.

“During the difficult recessionary years however agriculture has been the key driver of the revitalisation of the economy in which it has played a key role. Its turnover has amounted to €26 billion and there are 160,000 jobs involved in the sector. Agricultural exports reached €10.83 billion last year.

“Without agriculture the rural economy will not be able to develop. If the rural economy is going well, it has a knock-on effect on the construction, machinery and fuel industries, as well as on local shops. In general, if agriculture is going well, farmers will spend money straight away when they have it.

“I look forward to working with the two new Ministers Creed and Humphreys to ensure that Carlow benefits from the strategies put in place to revitalise rural Ireland.”