Sinn Féin will continue to press for funding for small farm businesses - McAleer

The party’s agriculture spokesperson said: “I welcomed support from the AERA Committee for the Department to shelve its proposals to reduce access for small farms spanning three hectares to have access to the Farm Sustainability Payments to help sustain and grow their businesses.

“Sinn Féin opposed these proposals when they had been first initiated by the previous agriculture minister, I am glad to see other parties on the committee have seen sense and now recognise that these proposals would threaten the viability of 1,400 farm businesses, many of which are already struggling to survive.

“The move from three to five hectares in the funding criteria not only would deny small farms access to support payments, it would also have a knock on effect on the ability of rural families to build houses due to planning applications for these properties being underpinned by the presence and having active farm business.

“I will continue to press Minister Muir to scrap these proposals which would otherwise result in the exclusion of small farms for funding and potential planning applications."