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Reacting to the announcement by the Minister for the Environment on septic tanks, IFA President John Bryan acknowledged that Minister Phil Hogan has recognised the need to minimise the financial impact on rural dwellers who have to register their septic tank.

John Bryan said, "Householders in rural areas have been hit hard with a range of extra charges and costs. The Minister's announcement that a charge of just €5 will apply until June will come as a relief to hundreds of thousands of people with their own tanks."

Mr Bryan re-iterated IFA's view that a retro-fit scheme must be introduced immediately to assist householders who may have to upgrade their tank following an inspection. He said, "Rural dwellers have already invested in the installation and maintenance of their own treatment system, and will want to ensure that it works properly to protect the environment. A retro-fit scheme would also help to create badly-needed jobs in the rural economy."

MINISTER COVENEY MUST GIVE ASSURANCES ON FARM SCHEMES FOLLOWING PROPOSED CHANGES TO EU CO-FINANCING

IFA Rural Development Chairman, Flor McCarthy, has called on the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, to give assurances to farmers that the farm investment grant schemes under the TAMS will not be affected by the proposed changes to the EU co-financing rates in the CAP Rural Development Programme over the next two years.

The IFA Rural Development Chairman has said the proposed reduction in expenditure to Rural Development measures must not lead to cutbacks in support to vital farm schemes and wider Rural Development measures.

Mr. McCarthy said the proposal to increase the level of EU Co-Financing under the current programme from 50% to 85% will mean that the national requirement will reduce by up to €200m over the next two years.