Deputy Keaveney meets IFA on third-level grants

A MEETING was held on Monday between representatives of the Galway IFA and Galway East Deputy Colm Keaveney. It followed several weeks of public debate on the proposed reforms to the system for the awarding third level grants. In a statement issued by Deputy Keaveney he said: 'The meeting was positive and I was happy that they accepted clarification of my position on the proposed reforms. I agreed entirely with them that the debate to date has been unfairly focused on the farming community and indeed made that very point in a statement released to the Tuam Herald last week and in all of my contributions to date on this debate. 'I called on the IFA to focus their energies on resisting the prospect of a student loan scheme and to support Labour in our endeavour to maintain the current student grant system. [private] 'It is important that any reform of the third level grant system provides clarity in the application process so that the public will have confidence that it is being directed to those are most in need of it. The sustainability of the system requires that there be trust in the process. Low income farming families 'I share the concerns of the IFA over access rates to grants of certain sectors in the society and have been calling for clarification on this point over the last number of weeks. 'The interests of low income farming families in Galway East will be protected by such reforms as they will ensure that the resources are directed to low income families in all sectors, including farming, self-employed, and PAYE, and not to those who may be able to manipulate the system currently or those who are asset rich. 'I was also happy to repeat my position that assets that are the means to one's livelihood, such as the farmer's fields or the plumber's tools, should not be taken into account in any new means test, but that other assets certainly should be. Any such reform will apply equally to those who are asset rich in the PAYE sector, as much as it does to those who are self-employed. 'We also discussed the current process of reforms to farm payments and I remain focused on protecting the interests of smaller farmers against those of the larger ones and to ensure that Galway retain their fair share of any future reform to CAP. 'Once again, I reiterate my call to the national media to remove the focus of this debate from the farming community. This focus is both unfair and unhelpful to the debate.'[/private]