Minister dismisses predictions of rural decline
16/11/2005 - 16:03:03Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan this afternoon rubbished claims that rural Ireland faces a bleak future.
A report by Teagasc has predicted serious decline over the next twenty years. It said the opening up of world trade would mean a halving of the number of farmers here by 2025.
As many rural communities depend on farming the population of these areas is likely to plummet.
However Minister Coughlan said she didn’t agree: “Yes there's a decline in farming and yes there are difficulties, but that being said this is not a Dooomsday situation.
“What we're doing is very much struggling in the face of WTO developments within the European Community, but that being said, the investment supports are there, the financial supports are there, and the policies are being driven.”
