Kilkenny TD John Paul Phelan has said the Government recognises the importance and potential of the agri-food industry, as demonstrated by the capital spending programme.
Deputy Phelan said that the coalition had been left with no option but to make tough decisions, but that the agri-food sector was still regarded as essential – particularly in Kilkenny.
“Key areas that will foster economic recovery and return us to prosperity must be prioritised; as a result the agri-food industry has been identified as an important economic driver,” he said.
“Agriculture is the good news story of this economy. And in a county like Kilkenny, we are acutely aware of the value of the industry to our economy with massive, global players such as Glanbia located here and the success of various food events such as Savour Kilkenny.”
Deputy Phelan said that the Fine Gael-led coalition’s capital programme spending allocations were a success compared to Fianna Fail’s National Recovery Plan.
However, the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland has expressed concern about the impact of the €750m spending cuts to the Public Capital Programme.
“The cuts to the capital programme are significant and will have a severe impact on the construction industry, which has already contracted in recent years,” said John Curtin, President of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland.
“Furthermore, it will have a negative impact on employment levels which have already dropped to around 100,000 this year from 270,000 directly employed in the construction industry at the peak.”
