'Respect for farmers is paramount': ICSA president McNamara makes first speech in the role
ICSA president Sean McNamara questions Minister McConalogue at the ICSA AGM in Athlone.
Sean McNamara has said farmers need to receive “the dignity and appreciation their work merits” in his first speech as the president of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA).
Respect for farmers is "paramount", and as ICSA president, Mr McNamara said he wants to see a "culture of respect from department inspectors, factories, and consumers alike".
"My overarching priority as president of ICSA is to ensure that farm families - working day in day out on family farms around the country - can make a viable living from farming," Mr McNamara said, as he gave his speech to the ICSA's AGM in Athlone on Thursday.
"This means we must help farmers not just survive but thrive economically; their hard work should result in a good living; they are earning enough to support their families.
"This means they can continue to use sustainable practices for the environment and future generations."
His key focus areas during his presidency are: viable incomes, fair product prices and support schemes that work for farmers; the right balance between food security and sustainability; dignity and appreciation for farmers and improving their mental health; land, property, and carbon rights; and progress on animal disease.
As protests take place across Ireland and the EU this week, Mr McNamara said it must be made "easier for our farmers in Europe to focus on what they do best – feeding the people by producing high-quality, sustainable food".
"Our farmers are doing commendable work for the environment. We are doing the heavy lifting. I make no apologies for refusing to let them become scapegoats for climate change," he said.
"It is imperative that these initiatives come with proper financial support. I will actively seek new funds outside of CAP to ensure our farmers can meet these objectives without shouldering an unjust burden."
Mr McNamara feels the EU has "gone too far" with the Green Deal.
"The EU has been long on shallow consultation and short on deep listening to the people on the ground who are supposed to transform their systems," he continued.
"I believe Ireland must move with the swing in attitude in Europe and take the opportunity to lead the way in standing up for fairness for farmers in Europe.
"To stand up for realism about food security; to stand up for defending the good work that EU farmers have already done for sustainability and to fight for new money if we want greater ambition."
The "drive for net zero" cannot end up with a situation of "net zero European food", Mr McNamara said.
"We must now bin the Mercosur agreement once and for all. Europe must be either for our farmers and our food systems or against us."
Mr McNamara takes over as president from Dermot Kelleher.
The two agreed to a 'power-sharing agreement' in 2022 following a tie in the presidential election.
It was agreed at the election over a year ago that Dermot Kelleher, who was the president at the time, would remain in situ as president for 2023, while Mr McNamara, the ICSA sheep chairman, would take up the office of president for 2024.
Mr McNamara is a sheep, suckler, and beef farmer, farming at Lismacaffrey, Co Westmeath.
