IFA: Lidl's Living Wage move 'two-faced'; they have 'ripped apart' small farmers

The IFA President has lashed out at Lidl’s plans to pay staff the Living Wage as "two-faced", at a time the supermarket giant is driving down prices for farmers.

Seven hundred staff at Lidl are set to benefit from the commitment to pay a basic rate of €11.50 per hour, which is designed to protect a socially acceptable standard of living.

However, the Irish Farmers Association says vegetable suppliers have been forced out of business by aggressive pricing from retailers.

IFA President Eddie Downey says Lidl’s Living Wage announcement is disingenuous.

Mr Downey said: "It is absolutely two-faced, look at what they did to the vegetable industry.

"A lot of small businesses, small farmers, have gone out of business here who used to supply vegetables to corner shops and other places.

"They are gone now, because the corner shop is gone. There is a whole section that is being ripped apart here by these people who are under-selling and under-valuing food, and it is simply unacceptable."