West Cork farmers who have been hit with penalties to their single farm and disadvantaged area payments will stage a peaceful protest at Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney’s office in Carrigaline next Saturday, November 29, at 10 am, organised by the West Cork Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association and the West Cork Communities Alliance.

Thousands of farmers got letters “out of the blue” this week clawing back disadvantaged area payments, said ICSA West Cork chairman Dermot Kelleher.

Gale force winds and freezing rain didn’t deter more than 250 protesters against the threat of retrospective land eligibility fines who gathered in Bantry Square in west Cork last Saturday.