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 Tipperary Farm Contractors Meeting Tipperary Farming Contractors have expressed grave concerns regarding new regulations governing the use of agricultural and works vehicles on public roads and feel that these new laws will seriously effect their future incomes.
Details of the Department of Transport and Road Safety Authority‘s new proposals are due to be announced later this week. Contractors understandably now express concerns that these new measures will exclude them from non-agricultural work contracts.
It is understood that a speed limit of just 40kph will be also be introduced for tractors on public roads, with the minimum age for tractor drivers to be increased, while permits will to be introduced for contractors who use farm vehicles that run on rebated fuel for non-agricultural work.
Tom Murphy, director of the Professional Agricultural Contractors (PAC) of Ireland claims:
“The proposed legislation will do serious damage to contractor incomes and the cost of permits, which would allow agricultural contractors to use farm machinery on non-agricultural jobs, such as construction, is likely to be prohibitive. Contractors will go to the wall because of this. There are very few contractors who survive exclusively on farm work. New speed limit will effectively ban tractors from motorways, while the cost of new permits could exclude many contractors from tendering for work with local councils.The proposals, as they are currently framed, deemed the transport of harvested willow as haulage rather than an element of the contractor’s core business. Consequently, contractors will need permits to run their vehicles on rebated fuel if they get involved in this activity.”
The PAC will hold a meeting this week on Thursday at 8pm in the Horse and Jockey, Thurles, Co Tipperary to advise contractors on these new proposed measures.
Farm contractors incomes have already been hit this past year, with the repossession and resale of farm and plant machinery by finance companies, having had serious consequences for established and registered agricultural contractors, with cheap tractors and machinery, bought at repossession sales, enabling new entrants to undercut established operators. Claims that new silage outfits have started up, as a result, which are not registered for tax and who are operating, charging significantly less as a consequence, would appear to be well founded.
 Green Dragon Innovation Challenge 2011 The Agri Aware Green Dragon Secondary Schools Innovation Challenge is back and set again to entice all our young innovators to develop original and ground breaking ideas. Students are encouraged to develop the concept of a new product or service within three sectors with huge potential for development, namely: food, agriculture and the environment.
Twenty five finalists will battle it out at the national final in March 2011 for the highly coveted prize of a development fund worth €8,000.
Agri Aware with the support of Bord Bia and AIB Bank are calling on second level students of all ages to look outside their classroom, identify a gap in one of these three sectors and apply what they have learned to the real world.
The challenge is open to all second level students. It doesn’t matter if you are a first or a sixth year, the submission will be judged on the merit of the idea and not your age.
Students nationwide will pitch their ideas to the Green Dragons with the hope of following in the footsteps of last year’s highly successful winner, Paul Bowden from Thurles CBS Co. Tipperary.
IFA President John Bryan commented, “The Green Dragon is an excellent way to get our young people thinking about the huge economic possibilities that lie within the agricultural, food and environmental sector.”
Interested pupils, teachers and parents should visit Here for more information.
Note: Due to the recent adverse weather conditions resulting in the closure of many schools, the closing date for registration to the Green Dragon Innovation Challenge is now Friday January 21st, 2011.
 Oil Tanks Gardaí in Co Tipperary are urging the public to be on the alert, following a series of thefts over the past number weeks in the south of the country, in which thousands of euro of central heating oil was stolen from private homes and business premises.
Soaring fuel prices and a ready market are mainly to blame for the increase in such thefts.
Thieves are targeting holiday homes, along with houses where home owners are away for a short period of time. Most of these thefts are, however, from larger premises, such as schools and business premises, according to gardaí.
Gardaí are urging home owners and businesses to secure their tanks with, at the very least, a strong locking device. People are also being asked to consider installing sensor lighting, within the area of their fuel tanks, as part of their theft prevention system.
Rural homeowners, churches and farmers are particularly at risk from thieves due to the isolation, in a lot of cases, of fuel tanks.
Premises who feel threatened, can also acquire a small wireless transmitter, which can be placed inside the screw cap of their oil tank. The magnetic reed switch on this device ensures that if the cap is opened or tampered with, the homeowner will be alerted by an audible alert from the security system.
Other advanced alarm systems can include the activation of outside security lights and the sending of SMS text messages to a Alarm Receiving Centre.
 Seamus O'Farrell, Mike Pearson, Wray Platt Gurteen Farm Manager, Michael White Teagasc Reps, Bill Condon, all who attended a recent Cross Compliance event at Gurteen College. Speaking at last week’s Agriculture Committee meeting, Deputy Noel Coonan questioned the Director of Teagasc, Professor Gerry Boyle, on the provision of additional staff and facilities at Gurteen College, to accommodate some of the 250 applicants that were turned down this year.
The North Tipperary and South Offaly TD said: “It is an ill wind that blows no good and the current recession has put the focus on agriculture; which is now perceived by many as the main hope to bring the country out of the mess it is in. I recently spoke with Mike Pearson, Manager of Gurteen College, who told me that he could provide at least a further 100 courses at the establishment if he had the staff and facilities to so do. While Gurteen College is a private institution, I am concerned about budget cutbacks and the inability to provide course places to young people who are crying out for them. A number of young people in my constituency were greatly disappointed when they were unable to secure a place in Gurteen and Mr. Pearson has told me that he could deliver the courses, were he given the resources to so do.”
In response to the Deputies queries, Prof. Boyle said the crux of the issue is the Government’s ban on recruitment. Teagasc’s Director commented: “I probably had representations from the people who contacted the Deputy in regard to admission to the college this year. There was excess demand for places and I regret very much that we had to turn down 250 applicants which is something we never had to do before, purely because we did not have the teaching staff to accommodate the students. The reason is very simple; it is not a policy of Teagasc, rather, it concerns the moratorium. If we were to get external funding for teachers from a generous co-operative or company which said it wanted to support a particular college and sub-vent a number of teachers; we would still not be able to recruit staff under the moratorium. The biggest difficulty we are facing is in dealing with the moratorium on recruitment.”
This means that if Gurteen College loses teachers through early retirement, illness or maternity leave for example, they now cannot hire a teacher. The local Fine Gael TD, who is a member of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and also F G Party Spokesperson on CAP Reform, said he will continue to lobby the Government to provide additional resources in order to keep our vibrant rural economy alive.
Opposition parties have reacted strongly to Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan’s 2011 Budget stating it does not provide sufficient stimulus measures for the economy and middle and lower income earners are being asked to shoulder the gross incompetence of the present government.
 Deputy Noel Coonan TD Fine Gael’s finance spokesman Michael Noonan said it was the budget of a “puppet government” obeying their new masters the IMF and ECB, while allowing the State to draw down bailout funds.
Speaking following the publication of Budget 2011, Deputy Noel Coonan said Minister Brian Lenihan may have exempted old age pensioners from draconian cutbacks but carers, widowers, people with disabilities and the blind will all suffer from unfair cuts and will be paying for the “sins of the banks.”
Deputy Coonan stated: “Budget 2011 lacks imagination and any incentive for job creation. It does not inspire confidence and symbolises an old tired Government that should resign and vanish. How any Independent Deputy could support this Government bearing in mind what it has done to our people, beggars belief; especially on the pretence that old people are being looked after while carers, widowers, people with disabilities and the blind are made pay for the sins of the bank. Carers provide an invaluable service, saving the country millions, but these giving people are being penalized instead of rewarded and that is beyond grasp.
It’s unbelievable that any public representative could sell out our country for private benefits, while the Minister imposes a 4% reduction in most social welfare payments, resulting in a reduction of €8 to carers and those who are blind. Fine Gael is totally opposed to cutting payments to the most vulnerable.”
Speaking on agriculture the Deputy stated:
“Agriculture is the one industry which can save us and it has been ignored and was not worthy of even a mention in the Budget. Those on negative equity were also ignored. It’s those who are disadvantaged and vulnerable who will shoulder the majority of the burden yet again.”
Social groups are today digesting the details of Budget 2011. Barnardos says there is despair in many Irish households as a result of the cuts in child benefit.
The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed says Ireland is a much colder place for those out of work, while Respond, the housing association, says cuts to social welfare and child benefit will inflict further hardship on families.
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