Like the Farmers, the Minister must now go cap in hand to Europe 

It has been days since we learned about the serious breach in EU rules made by the Agriculture Minister and Farmers still do not know if the Rural Development Grant will be paid, or if their application will be scrapped and the process begun again.

The Sinn Fein Minister whose Party shouts about their policies on equality and fairness has managed in one foul swoop to create one of the most unjust manmade situations of discrmination to have faced the farming industry for some time.

 First of all fact that farmers had to queue cap in hand was a personal insult to farmers and their communities, and worse than that it was a gross injustice to those who could not queue due to ill heath, farm or family circumstances. Added to this insult was the fact that it is unheard of that an industry has to queue for a grant they are by law entitled to. This entire situation from beginning to end smacked of injustice and arrogance on the part of the Department of Agriculture.

The only hope now is that Europe doesn’t punish our farming community for the mistakes of their Minister. The Minister, like the farming community on Tuesday of last week, must now go cap in hand to the EC and beg for assurances from Europe that the farmers applications will be saved.

The Minister also owes the farming community a full explanation as to how she got it so wrong and a public apology if she is to gain back their confidence as the Minister responsible for their needs and the defender and protector of the farming industry.

Ends.