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UFU disappointed by EU Agriculture Council support for publishing SFP information

The Ulster Farmers’ Union has expressed disappointment following the recent EU Agriculture Council meeting where Ministers backed Commission plans to amend the rules for publishing Single Farm Payment data.

UFU President Harry Sinclair said; “I am deeply disappointed that Farm Ministers have supported the revised Commission proposals around publishing Single Farm Payment figures. Since 2005 the UFU has objected to the publication of this information. We have always felt that publishing the individual figures is an intrusion into the affairs of farmers and serves no public interest but simply creates a ‘curiosity shop’ on the internet.”

In November 2010 the UFU welcomed a European Court ruling stating that publishing the names of farmers and the amount of Single Farm Payment they receive was not a suitable way to achieve public transparency.

Harry Sinclair continued; “We were pleased with the ruling in 2010 and subsequently the UK government removed the SFP information from the public domain, which we believe was the right decision. In light of this new development, if the information must be published I would like to see it done less intrusively by anonymising the payment information, such as by removing farmers’ names, which should ensure a balance between public scrutiny and the right to privacy.”