Labour Welcomes Retention Of Food Fund

A Labour MEP has welcomed the retention of the €500 million EU food aid scheme, which was facing an 80% cutback because of resistance from member states.

Phil Prendergast said the plan to curtail the scheme would have resulted in €900,000 of food aid for some of Ireland's most disadvantaged people being cut from January.

"Given the economic situation and the rising numbers of people availing of free meals schemes, this would have been devastating news for needy people in Ireland and throughout Europe. An estimated 43 million people are at risk of food poverty through the EU."

The scheme, which helps supply free meals to 18 million people, is worth €1.2 million per year in Ireland and came under threat after Germany won a legal challenge in April to purchase food on the open market to avail of surpluses arising from Common Agriculture Policy quotas.

"When this scheme began, it used surplus EU food stocks. But surpluses are now diminishing and food is being bought at market prices, which was not the intention."

Mr Pendergast said that the way the scheme operates needs to be reformed but, at this critical time, free meals must continue to meet the rising need.

"This development at least secures the budget for another two years and gives time for agreeing a revamped scheme after 2013," the MEP said.

He added: "Free meals schemes are not the solution to poverty, of course. We need proper long-term social and economic plan to ensure our citizens don't need to depend on food aid.

"But now is not the time to cut aid to our most needy citizens. For instance, the Cork Penny Dinners scheme, which offers meals to people in need for 5 cent, recently reported a 300% increase in people availing of its services."

(DW)