At the national Ash Dieback conference on Saturday,  farmers continued their calls for meaningful support from Government. SEEFA  also ask that adequate support is made available for farmers as a matter of  urgency, and asks if anyone believes the current situation is acceptable.

In November, the Taoiseach and Minister McConalogue  launched a €1.3 billion war chest for the next forestry programme. Now four  months on, the forestry programme is not yet sanctioned and is a mirror image  of the management of the forestry licencing scandal in its sixth year. In the  midst of this, owners of Ash plantations infected with Ash dieback cannot  even apply for approval to deal with the disease

Does anyone really believe the next programme can be  successful if confidence is not restored to the farming community by  addressing serious issues such as Ash dieback?

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