Latest news with #PheilimMolloy
Agriland
13 hours ago
- Business
- Agriland
Donegal farmer to be appointed new INHFA president
Donegal native Pheilim Molloy is poised to succeed Vincent Roddy as president of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers' Association (INHFA) at the association's annual general meeting (AGM) to be held at Percy French Hotel, Strokestown on Thursday, September 11, 2025. Outgoing president Vincent Roddy said Molloy accepted the nomination for president at a National Council meeting held on Monday, August 18, following a nomination process conducted over the last number of weeks with county and branch officers. In wishing him every success in his new role, Roddy pointed to the vast experience Pheilim Molloy has which 'will be invaluable in the coming two years as we work towards a new CAP [Common Agricultural Policy] programme and address the challenges posed by the Nature Restoration Law while continuing to grow the organisation". Incoming INHFA president, Pheilim Molloy. Image source: Brian Farrell Roddy added that over the past few years, Molloy has "played an important role in terms of policy and organisational development through a term as national vice-president and as national chair over the last two years while also holding key roles at county level in Donegal including county chair". 'As president he will now get the opportunity to lead from the front in what promises to be an exciting time for the INHFA." In discussing his own two terms as president, Roddy has thanked all INHFA members and especially those that have held an officer position for their work and dedication during his four years as president. Roddy outlined how honoured he was to have held the role of president adding that he "is now looking forward to working with the incoming president and his team over the coming two years". The INHFA was established in January 2015 to represent farmers on marginalised, hill and designated land. The INHFA works to ensure the viability of the family farm and the farming way of life that has developed on 'high nature value' and hill type land. The organisation works to ensure farming communities are valued both for their agricultural output and the positive benefits their way of farming provides to biodiversity and ecosystem services and animal welfare. It highlights farmers' issues through lobbying and representation at national and European levels, as well as offering ongoing confidential advice and guidance to individual farmers at local level.
Agriland
04-06-2025
- Business
- Agriland
ACRES payments ‘could be too little, too late' for future schemes
The issuing of delayed balancing payments for 2023 and 2024 under the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) 'could be too little, too late' for future agri-environment schemes, one farm organisation has warned. As the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine works towards getting ACRES payments out to farmers, the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers' Association (INHFA) has said that the hold-up to these payments has caused 'irreparable damage' to both ACRES and similar schemes that might exist in future. Pheilim Molloy, the national chairperson of the INHFA, said that while recent progress made in getting balancing payment out is positive, it has nonetheless left many farmers in an 'unacceptable' position. He said: 'As we move into June and past the half point of ACRES programme we need to recognise that there are over 1,000 farmers that applied to join ACRES in November 2022 still awaiting their balancing payments. 'For these farmers and many more that have only been paid in recent weeks, the wait for their payment in addition to clarity on their overall payment is unacceptable.' 'Beyond these 1,000 farmers there are over 5,400 farmers still awaiting their first payment for 2024 which [amounts] to 10% of the 54,082 participants in the ACRES programme,' he added. According to Molloy, this has left these farmers 'in a vulnerable financial position, due to uncertainty around payment dates and the balance of their overall payment'. 'This will leave farmers reluctant to join future schemes, especially where there isn't a clear indication of what payment farmers can expect to get, as well as definite timelines around these payment dates,' the INHFA national chair added. The INHFA representative also cited concerns around habitat scoring for commonage farmers in the Co-operation Project (CP) areas. For these farmers, landscape actions (LAs) were included to assist farmers on improving their habitat score, but as of yet none of these actions have been made available. 'This is another example of farmers losing out due to the failures of the department, which has indicated that these actions will not be available until the second or third quarter of this year,' Molloy said. 'Based on ACRES deadlines it is reasonable to now assume that these LAs won't be available until at least September which will be too late to positively influence the habitat scoring that has already started on these commonages,' he added. 'For these farmers and indeed all other farmers in ACRES, the inability by the department to deliver on payment dates and the actions to support farmers will be the defining element of the scheme, as well as being a major factor in their decision to partake…in any future agri-environment scheme,' Molloy said.
