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AS MINISTER for Finance, Brian Cowen, cleared the way for a miserly budget this week with talk of ‘belt- tightening’, his cabinet colleague Agriculture Minister, Mary Cough- lan, was busy painting a rosy picture for Irish farmers come December 5.

Speaking following the publication of the 2008 Pre-Budget Outlook by the Tanaiste last week, Coughlan welcomed the proposed provision of €1.722 billion for the Department of Agriculture.

In addition, €110 million is being provided for the fisheries which, for technical reasons, 1s included in the Pre-Budget Outlook under the Vote for the Department of Communica-

tions, Marine and Natural Resourc- oe

“The Pre-Budget Outlook repre- sents a new approach to the annual Estimates procedure. The Outlook is drawn up on the basis of Exist- ing Level of Service and on Budget Day, 5th December, the Tanaiste will present any budgetary additions to- gether with his revenue proposals for 2008,” she said.

“It makes a great deal of sense to deal with expenditure and taxation in a single exercise. The allocation of €1.722 billion in the Pre-Budget Outlook was the practical expression of the Government’s commitment to the development of a modern, ef- ficient and sustainable agri-food in- dustry.

“The Minister said that the fund- ing reflected the Government’s and my own objectives for the sector as outlined in the various policy state- ments and agreements, including the National Development Plan, To- wards 2016 and the Rural Develop- ment Programme, 2007-2013.”

Apart from this voted expenditure, the Department of Agriculture will also disburse almost €1.4billion in EU direct payments and market sup- ports in 2008.

A number of areas have already been earmarked for substantial fund- ing including €17Imillion for food safety, animal health and welfare and plant health and more than €1billion for a range of measures under the Rural Development Programme and

for capital investment in the dairy, beef, sheepmeat and farm sectors.

Of this billion euro some €375mil- lion has been allocated for the Rural Environment Protection Scheme, €257million for Income Support in Disadvantaged Areas, €68million for Early Retirement and Installa- tion Aid Schemes, €12I] million for investment in the Forestry Sector and Bio-Energy and €183million for schemes of on-farm investment, 1n- cluding Farm Waste Management.

Along with this some €27million is provided to support the efforts of An Bord Bia to promote Irish pro- duce in overseas markets which, the Minister said, is more vital than ever in the face of increasing competition from non EU producers.

THE Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey has stated that any Govern- ment protection of Heathrow slots would be regarded by the European Commission as a special right, which would be challenged before the Eu- ropean Court of Justice.

The minister has also stated that the Aer Lingus withdrawal of its Shan- non-Heathrow service “does not re- quire that a fundamental review of our aviation policy be undertaken or that a Green Paper be published”.

He said, “The main objective is to ensure that the three State airports have sufficient capacity to respond to the growth opportunities of a com- petitive airline sector and to provide vital international access.

“In fulfilling this objective, it is pro- posed to establish Cork and Shannon as independent airports, once finan- cial and operational readiness has been demonstrated under the State Airports Act 2004. In addition, the six regional airports have a key role to play in promoting regional devel- opment.

“The further key components of our strategy are to ensure that our aviation safety and security policies comply with, or exceed, the highest international standards and that the policy framework for air navigation services ensures that the require- ments of airlines for efficient rout- ings and the avoidance of delays are met as far as possible without com- promising safety.

In response to a second question from Limerick East deputy, Kieran O’Donnell, Minister Dempsey was unable to give a date as to when Gov-

ernment funding will be put in place for the full implementation of the €53 million mid-west tourism and economic development plan.

On the decision by BMI not to proceed with a Heathrow link from Shannon, Minister Dempsey said, “The decision by British Midland that it would not commence a Shan- non-Heathrow service was made public on October 4 and reported in the media the following day. I was made aware two days previously, on October 2, that the decision was likely to be negative.

MAYOR of Clare, Patricia McCa- rthy left the podium at Saturday’s Save Our Slots Rally to thunderous applause, having told Aer Lingus they “can’t give the two fingers to the mid-west’.

Mayor McCarthy was among a list of speakers who castigated Aer Lin- gus and the Government for the deci-

sion to move the Heathrow slots from Shannon to Belfast.

“My message is simple,” she told the gathered crowds. “Mr Mannion and Aer Lingus, you have made a big mis- take. You have given the two fingers to the Government but you won’t give the two fingers to the mid-west.”

She said that Aer Lingus was ped- dling a “myth and a lie that seat sales are going well in Belfast and the

Government ministers are peddling the same myths and lies.”

Her message for Dublin was, “We are not whingers in the mid-west. We have a problem and we’re getting up and doing something about it. Every- one recognises the injustice of what is happening except the elected Govern- ment. They have the solving of it. Ber- tie 1s the Great Fixer – let him come down here and fix our problem.”

Atlantic Connectivity Alliance’s Michael Vaughan lashed the Gov- ernment for having failed to prepare for the Aer Lingus decision. ““We in business believe there is an answer for those who fail to prepare – it’s a P45 and there are addresses in Dublin I would like to send those to today.”

He added that people should “re- member what has been achieved here. Remember the Flying Boats, remember the first Atlantic crossing. Remember Shannon Development and the Shannon Free Zone and give notice to those who have consigned us in the mid-west to the scrap heap – we will rise again!”

Deputy John Cregan, the only Fian- na Fail TD on the podium, was booed as he told the crowd of almost 10,000 people that he had “listened to your anger and | will be reporting back to the Taoiseach on the importance of this issue to the Shannon region.”

Also on the podium to speak in sup- port of the campaign were the Mayor of Limerick, Ger Fahy and the Ca- thaoirleach of Clare County Council, Cllr Kevin Sheahan.

They were joined by Fine Gael TD, Kieran O’Donnell; Labour TD, Jan O’Sullivan; Impact official, Andy Pike; SIPTU’s Michael Halpenny; Limerick business woman and model agency director, Celia Holman-Lee; and former Munster and Ireland rug- by hero, Peter Clohessey.

KILMIHIL farmer and Clare IFA Farm Forestry Chairman, Martin Murphy, was last week awarded a Merit Award at the 20th annual RDS/Forest Service Irish Forestry Awards at Castletown House in Cel- bridge.

Murphy was presented with the award by Mary Wallace, Minister of State at the Department of Ag- riculture, Fisheries and Food, with responsibility for Forestry, at a cer- emony on Thursday evening.

The annual Irish Forestry Awards, which are sponsored by the Forest Service of the Department of Ag- riculture, Fisheries and Food, are organised by the RDS which has a long association with Irish forestry and agriculture.

Martin took the merit award in the Farm Forestry category with John McCartan from Kells taking first place.

The Bio-diverse Forest/Woodlands category was won by The Mission- ary Society of St Columbian in Meath with the merit award going to Joe Barry from Kildare.

Greenbelt Ltd from County Cavan was awarded the judges prize for their outstanding work while the special award, in recognition of an outstanding contribution to Irish Forestry, was made to John McCa- rthy of None So Hardy nurseries.

Meanwhile, 1n his role as Clare IFA Farm Forestry Chairman, Martin last week called on Clare REPS farmers to examine the benefits of the new Forest Environmental Protection Scheme (FEPS) which is available to farmers establishing new forests on REPS farms.

The scheme, in which forests will oLoMMeNI Elo) NL elec MmmyalNe Mm oOh ab KO)IDOsTo ILE-DI objectives which will go beyond those of the regular afforestation scheme, will pay farmers up to €200 per hectare over and above the ordi- nary forestry premium for a five year ererulOXee

The payment will compensate farm- ers for the REPS payments that they would normally forgo when transfer- ring REPS land into forestry.

“T hope that this scheme will en- courage REPS farmers to consider

planting some land – the FEPS pay- ment along with the 15 per cent in- crease in premium which IFA fre- cently secured through partnership, should make forestry more attractive to farmers who wouldn’t have con- sidered it as an option in the past,” he said.

The chairman warned farmers to carefully compare the merits of both FEPS and the regular afforestation scheme, “the afforestation scheme

may be more appropriate and ben- eficial over the longer term on many je vuseee

Against this background the IFA hosted a farm forestry meeting in the Auburn Lodge Hotel last night.

“Farmers who are considering planting should come to receive in- formation on increases in planting grants and premiums and the new FEPS Scheme,” he said.

‘Farmers who have already planted

should also come to get details on other forestry schemes and an update on the Clare Wood Energy Project, which will create a market for thin- nings in the county.”

FARMERS from all over the county began last week to benefit from ad- vanced payments under the 2007 Single Payment Scheme.

Nationwide some €533 million, representing a 50 per cent advanced payment, was made available to farmers from last Tuesday.

“T am particularly pleased that these payments, worth in excess of €533 million, have begun issuing today to some 113,500 farmers,” said the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mary Coughlan.

The payments are being made six weeks earlier than would otherwise be the case as a result of the success- ful outcome of her request to Com-

missioner Fischer Boel for an ad- vance payment in 2007 in response to the bad weather situation over the summer and the resultant farmer cash flow needs.

Minister Coughlan confirmed that advance payments would continue issuing up until November 30, with balancing payments issuing from | DY—fersia loro an

“While payments will continue to issue as individual cases become clear, | would again urge anybody who has received correspondence from my department highlighting problems in relation to their appli- cation, to respond without delay as, by doing so, these cases can then be processed to finality and payments issued,’ she continued.

“To date, over €231 million has been paid out under DAS, to about 94,000 farmers. DAS payments con- tinue to issue as cases are cleared and again, I urge farmers to respond to outstanding correspondence.

“In order to facilitate those farm- ers with specific queries relating to their SPS/DAS payments, I have had dedicated Lo-call numbers allocated in my department.”

Clare and Limerick farmers who wish to learn more should call KORY Perma evi Comm Or-U Asch ams eD we oes ers should call 1890 200502 and Tipperary farmers should call 1890 pm) e728

Meanwhile, Mary Coughlan has announced changes to the REPS sys- tem which she claims will make it

easier for farmers to move to REPS 4. Coughlan has confirmed that REPS 3 farmers who want to switch over to REPS 4 will now have two months after their anniversary dates to submit REPS 4 plans.

Up to now, farmers moving over to REPS 4 before their existing con- tracts were finished would have had to get their REPS 4 applications in before their anniversary dates.

“Getting the Commission to clear REPS 4 took a bit longer than we had hoped. So it was early August before I could launch the new scheme. At that stage we still had to finalise all the documentation, and much work had to be done to update the REPS system which planners use to pre- pare the maps,” she said.

that the group feels that Aer Lingus has been in breech of European leg- islation namely article 95/93.

The group have pointed to a section of the 1993 regulation which says that “slots may be freely exchanged between air carriers from one route or type of service to another, by mu- tual agreement or as a result of a total or partial take-over or unilaterally.” This is called “flexibility mecha- Tbh ee Mae

The regulation goes on to clarify that the use of flexibility 1s limited

and cannot be used for slots to routes considered “vital” for the economic development of the region where the airport is located. Mr Geraghty said the group would also be asking if any impact study of the region had been done by the airline.

“We will also ask if the grandfather rights follow the route of the airline,” he said.

The group will ask the European public representatives if a mediator can be ap- pointed to help re- solve the difficulty at Shannon.

“We will be telling them that last year the Irish government owned the company

which holds he Irish airports slots to health. It sold 75 per cent of this company holding 25 per cent for strategic interest. The company is not trying to remove the route on one hand while the government is can- vassing support for a new company to acquire new slots from the very same co-ordinated airport on the other,’ he said.

tribute to ‘the greatest goalman that ever clutched a ball’ has that affect on Tulla folk.

There was much more of the same near Dr Daly’s windswept hill on Sunday night, on the grand stage erected for the occasion of Tulla’s triumphant homecoming opposite

Corbett’s Menswear.

All because in wake of Tulla’s historic re-emergence as a hurling force, Karl Quinn took the micro- phone and pelted out

A STRANGE, tough day for Stephen Cunningham and he says as much as he wheels away from a small knot of Crusheen men as Tulla captain Michael Murphy is about to put his paws all over the Canon Hamilton.

Cunningham turns his back to the stand and runs his mind over the past 60 minutes of hurling. Still hard to stomach. Still impossible to explain.

“You’d have thought the experience of the past couple of years would have drove us over the line at the end,” he says. “Because we were hungry for it. Nobody knows how hungry we were. I just can’t put my finger on why we lost today. There’s something else missing and that’s what we’ve got to find out.”

Straight, honest answers. It’s just over five minutes since the final whis- tle shrilled across the park and the game is still fresh in Cunningham’s head, still waiting to be digested.

“You can look at it any way you

like, but today just wasn’t our day. It belonged to Tulla and we’re the ones who’ll have to live with that. Get- ting to a final is all fine, but today isn’t about losers. A final isn’t good enough for Crusheen any more. We

need to win one. We’ve got to win one. Ah, we’ve been knocking on the door, putting in the hard work, coming close and other management teams have done as well. But this is heartbreak. The lads put in a great

effort and everything but today is about winners. Nothing else.”

High up on the stand, Murphy is holding the cup over his head now and Cunningham allows himself a gaze towards the podium.

“In fairness to Tulla you have to hand it to them. They were a hungry team. We missed some frees – some of them weren’t easy – but we did have a few wides and they cost us. You need to get those. Most other days they were going over for us but today, they just didn’t.”

And at the break, when the game looked like it was moulded for Crusheen, did his team believe they could create history?

“Of course. During half-time we reckoned we were in good shape and wed come back out and try to push forward. It didn’t work out. We knew wed be up against it, but we believed wed do it. The early goal, the wides. They all add up.”

He turns and walks back to the gathering of Crusheen men. A small waterhole of understanding among an ocean of Tulla delight.

THE bottom line? Tulla hit harder, scored easier and devoured posses- sion when it mattered.

It was raw, powerful hurling and if this game was ever to develop into an intense battle, it was clear where the advantage would fall.

Crusheen simply lost their way. For three quarters of the game, they played with ferocity but in the end, the wides added up and chipped away at their confidence. By the time Ger- ry O’Grady slotted their first score of the second half, 46 minutes into the game, Crusheen were already look- ing like wolves on the prairie who had lost their scent.

Tulla smelled strengthened.

Sean Torpey gathered a couple of raking balls in front of his goal, Ean- na Torpey sped around the midfield area like a cannonball, Michael Mur- phy broke every ball in his orbit and Mark Quinn was his now familiar self at centre-back, dependable and unflappable.

For a second, it looked like Paddy Meaney was about to crush Tulla’s slender lead but his kick skidded left and wide and Crusheen were left with nothing.

It was another tough dose to swal- low and another painful descent from the climb just as the peak was in sight.

This year they got closer than ever — a Stroke of a hurley — but when, in decades to come, last Sunday after- noon is dusted down and recalled, they will realise that Tulla simply out-fought them in the last quarter.

All year, the champions of 2007 have been strong of body and strong of character. Back in Scariff as the summer was ending, they lost to Smith O’Briens and it hurt. Last

the fear. They

week before the final, when they were asked where was the turning point of the season, a few Tulla men pointed their finger east and highlighted that game.

A couple of hundred people sat in the stands that day, looking on as Tulla struggled with minutes left to salvage something. They failed but since then momentum has been with them. They walked away from Scariff quietly and set about turning things around. One main theory has subsequently surrounded that day, that Jim McInerney, in a stroke of genius, over-trained the team before the game to set up a straight knock- out against Scariff.

But according to the Tulla boys, there were no special preparations against Smith O’Briens. They trained as normal and may have played an extra challenge game earlier in the week, but nothing to put lead in their

legs.

It doesn’t matters now, but the loss against Smith O’Briens and the win against Scariuff put them on the way WOR And on Sunday, in front of thou- sands, they followed through on the pace they had gathered, becoming the only team in the county to win championships in three centuries. History makers now live among the locals on the hill of the apostles.

All year, the approach to the sea- son has contrasted between the two. Crusheen sat down in the winter and mapped out their route. They said a final had to be reached and noth- ing else would matter. They were deliberate and steady in everything. On Sunday, they gathered and went to 11:45am mass together in the vil- lage. They stood together and they focused.

In Tulla, they’ve gone about things

the other way. Took each game as a single battle and didn’t look down the line. Before their games in Cu- sack Park, they travelled separately and met a little over half an hour be- fore each game. It’s worked.

With the drape of darkness sinking in above Ennis on Sunday, as they ac- quainted themselves with the Canon Hamilton for the first time, this band of Tulla men could reflect and take heart that simply and in the most ba- sic tradition of the game, they stood up when it counted.

The game was no classic. At one stage Crusheen averaged a wide eve- ry four minutes but as it played out, strangely and suddenly the quality of hurling hardly seemed to matter.

We expected a good old Western duel, back to back stuff and first to fall wouldn’t get to their feet.

It didn’t play out like that but it did eTocs DOA OTALMAY hs

Take this handful of sketches: It took nine seconds for the first hurley to break, 32 seconds for the game’s first moment on the edge when Alan Brigdale planted the boss of his stick into the gut of Brian Quinn.

Then, 55 seconds later, with just over two minutes on the clock, Quinn had dusted himself down and had the netting billowing.

He picked up the scrappy ball that fell before him, turned and over his Shoulder, lassoed the shotar into the net.

For the rest of half, when they could, Tulla looked to find Quinn with long, high ball and though the full-forward won most of what came his way, he didn’t create another clear-cut goal chance.

But just after his goal, the fuse was lit and we sat back and inhaled and waited for the explosion but the fire began to fizzle out.

Crusheen hit some terrible wides, O’Grady failed to get into the game but Tony Meaney and Paddy Vaughan were moving well in midfield.

If Tulla were to win, it looked like they’d have to score at least another goal to stay in contention. But those Crusheen’s wides just kept mount- ing.

Kieran Brennan bounded onto the field from the bench in the second half and within seconds, he had stretched Tulla’s lead to two. Murphy broke a ball on the half-forward line, Torpey picked it up and passed to Brennan and Tulla were away.

It was a simple, effective move and it summed up the champion’s sea- son.

AS THE success starved Tulla fans flooded the field to greet the players, it was easy to mistake Jim McInerney for the politican who stood before the people in the 2004 local elections. Everyone wanted his hand.

Young kids took photos and asked for autographs and there was no doubting who they believed was the chief architect of this victory. In es- sence, Jim McInerney is the epitome of Tulla hurling. He manages the team how he played the game him- self, throwing everything into it. As he stormed up and down the sideline,

hitting every ball in his mind during the game, his raw emotions came to the fore.

He longed for this day – when Tulla could take their place amongst the club’s great teams of the past. He has always believed in his players and they have equally responded this year. But, he was still in disbelief that it had finally happened.

“It is a proud day, there is no doubt and it’s great to finally win it. That’s what we have always strived for and now we have it, it is hard to believe we have it.”

But he is also quick to remember the other side of the coin too, deem-

ing it rather unfair that Crusheen had to lose such a close final.

“VL tell you, my feelings are with Crusheen too. They gave us a great battle. There was nothing in it in the end, they were very unlucky not to score a goal at the end and I hope someday, they will go on and win the senior title because they are there a long time without it and they have a lot of great work done for hurling. They have been knocking on the door for the last four or five years and hopefully their day will come as well.”

McInerney could certainly feel the tension on the sideline as the game

hung in the balance. He looked as exhausted as any player who played in the decider but felt that despite in- juries to key players, his squad lived up to expectation.

“Andrew Quinn was a huge loss to us and I think it upset our team prob- ably for the last 20 minutes of the first half. But we regrouped at half-time and we played the kind of passion- ate hurling that took us through the quarter and semi finals. Sean Torpey in fairness to him, he got man of the match there. He caught some massive ball inside in the square where it was most dangerous. He dominated that area and came away with the ball.

“But it was a tremendous display by all our backs. Mark Quinn had a great game at centre-back again and our two corners were massive as were the two wing-backs.

“It was a great performance defen- sivewise. But Crusheen have great backs too and they made life awful hard for us and our forwards. As a result, with two great sets of backs, it was a low scoring game. It was a very tight battle right to the end and we just got through it in the end. Just about!”’

But justified as well. A one point victory and McInerney is on top of the pile.