Leitrim IFA chairman says rising costs force farmers onto social welfare

The chairman of Leitrim IFA says increasing costs are forcing more farmers to rely on social welfare to make ends meet.

New figures show 298 people in Leitrim got Farm Assist or Rural Social Scheme payments last year.

These are paid by the Department of Social Protection to low-income farmers.

The figure for Longford was 118 last year, for Roscommon it was 268.

Leitrim IFA chairman Liam Gilligan says lots of farming in Leitrim is small-scale - and costs are increasing all the time.

South Roscommon councillor and farmer, Laurence Fallon, says there's a simple reason why the figure is so high in Roscommon.