A Sligo/Leitrim TD has hit out at the lack of support for young farmers and new entrants to farming, such as returning emigrants.
Deputy Martin Kenny, who’s the Sinn Fein spokesman on agricultrue, was particularly critical of the lack of a National Reserve of payments this year for such farmers.
The National Reserve was set up in 2015; it was to provide a fund of almost €25 million from which farm entitlement payments could be made to successful applicants.
But Deputy Kenny told Agricultrue Minister Michael Creed during question time in the Dail this week that a situation has been allowed develop this year where there has been no National Reserve.
Deputy Kenny has his own idea about how the money could be found for the National Reserve:
