Person: Pat Smith

Damien McDonald takes lead role, as IFA cuts executive pay

Newly appointed IFA chief executive Damien McDonald will earn a basic salary of €185,350 – significantly less than the €535,000 pay package of his predecessor, former IFA general secretary Pat Smith.

Thu, 17 Nov, 2016

Yet another big National Dairy Show win for the Barretts of Cork

Good tidings from Agriculture Minister Michael Creed at busy 2016 National Dairy Show in Millstreet.

Thu, 27 Oct, 2016

Ex-IFA boss seeks €2m pay plus damages

Former IFA general secretary Pat Smith has brought two legal actions against the association including one seeking orders requiring it to pay him €2m via payments of €1m now and a further €1m over the next 10 years.

Sat, 15 Oct, 2016

Stephen Cadogan: All change since EIF funding started for IFA in Brussels

The livestock levy dates from the 1970s, introduced to help carry the cost of the IFA’s Brussels office, seen then as a vital lobby for the Irish agri-food industry, following our accession to the EEC.

Thu, 25 Aug, 2016

105 tonnes milker is star of Cork herds competition

CHFC Annual Awards: Rebecca O’Sullivan, Dairygold, presenting to Cathy, Denis and Megan Reilly, and Ted, Lily and John O’Sullivan, Barryroe, receiving their award from Seamus O’Mahony, Dairygold.

Thu, 18 Aug, 2016

Farmers at Tullamore Show hear new ideas for EU agriculture

Organisers couldn’t have asked for a better 25th birthday celebration for the big midlands agricultural show.

Thu, 18 Aug, 2016

Hillary Clinton rejects lawsuit claims that she is responsible for deaths in Benghazi

The parents of two Americans killed in Benghazi say in a lawsuit that Hillary Clinton is responsible for the deaths of their children.

Wed, 10 Aug, 2016

Donald Trump’s convention to feature less glitz, more family

Donald Trump once promised a “showbiz” convention, packed with flash, celebrities, and a “winner’s night” featuring sports stars and champion coaches.

Tue, 19 Jul, 2016

Clonakilty celebrates with jiving at the agricultural show

Country came to town last Sunday as a tourist town celebrated its new streetscape after months of upheaval due to resurfacing and drainage works.

Thu, 16 Jun, 2016

Making sense of the mixed messages in farm income survey

Farm incomes rose 6% during 2015, but farmers argue that the real story is how far they lag behind other sectors.

Thu, 02 Jun, 2016

US Feds scour Wall Street party circuit for finance offenders

The drinks were flowing in Miami Beach that evening when Wall Street’s top cop crashed the party.

Fri, 27 May, 2016

A rebellion is brewing in the ranks of shareholders

Chief executives across the Anglo-Saxon corporate world have been gorging themselves in recent years, but has the time come to start snatching away some of the plates?

Mon, 25 Apr, 2016

New IFA president, Joe Healy, pledges openness

New president Joe Healy has pledged greater transparency in the IFA, after a low election turnout pointed to the challenges ahead for IFA’s 15th president.

Thu, 21 Apr, 2016

Split farming role an ‘insult’

The new president of the Irish Farmers Association has demanded the next agriculture minister be dedicated only to that portfolio.

Thu, 21 Apr, 2016

New IFA President Joe Healy: We need to work from the ground up

Noel Baker talks to farmer Joe Healy, new president of the IFA, on the problems facing the organisation in the wake of the debate over the salary paid to its former general secretary

Thu, 21 Apr, 2016

New IFA president seeks more money for farmers

A Galway dairy farmer has won 50% of the votes in the Irish Farmers Association elections to become its new president.

Wed, 20 Apr, 2016

Stephen Cadogan: IFA figures challenging but could have been worse

The number of fully paid-up members eligible to vote in the upcoming IFA elections stands at 75,501, said IFA National Chairman Jer Bergin last week.

Thu, 31 Mar, 2016

Interim IFA president fails in nomination bid

Three people are officially in the running to becoming the new president of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), but the previous interim incumbent is not among them.

Thu, 07 Jan, 2016

Rural crime: Communities band together to defeat scourge of burglary

Colin Connolly, the IFA’s recently appointed rural crime-prevention executive is running the Theft Stop programme and is also helping the association in the areas of policy and development, particularly when it comes to issues touching on justice, equality and rural affairs.

Sun, 27 Dec, 2015

IFA puts chairman in place until elections

The Irish Farmers’ Association has put a national chairman in place until elections are held for a new president.

Thu, 17 Dec, 2015

Con Lucey reveals IFA's runaway remuneration and faulty structures

Wages for the IFA General Secretary and President should be set by the Deputy President, National Treasurer, a Regional Chairman, and an external expert with specialist knowledge of pay levels, said the Association’s former chief economist, Con Lucey this week, in his much anticipated report on the organisation’ remuneration and governance.

Thu, 17 Dec, 2015

Catch-up with what you've missed with our morning briefing

Good morning. Here’s everything you need to know before you start your day.

Wed, 16 Dec, 2015

Pat Smith earned €3.4m over 7 years, but IFA chiefs’ pay ‘in line’ with civil service

Wed, 16 Dec, 2015

Acting president says debate around IFA salary levels ‘a distraction’ from operations

The IFA’s acting president has described the ongoing debate around salary levels in the organisation as a distraction from its day-to-day operations.

Wed, 09 Dec, 2015

IFA board criticism grows

Pressure is growing on senior members of the Irish Farmers Association executive board to step down after more local branches joined the call for resignations in the aftermath of the payments’ controversy within the organisation.

Fri, 04 Dec, 2015

O’Leary faces fight to stay on as head of IFA

Acting president Tim O’Leary faces a fight to stay in the position after one of the county executives calling for him and the entire IFA board to go claimed momentum for such a move was building.

Thu, 03 Dec, 2015

Rebirth of a transparent and open IFA will be difficult

Only a “new” IFA will be able to negotiate strongly for farmers.

Thu, 03 Dec, 2015

IFA stays silent on Eddie Downey comments

The IFA was last night remaining tight-lipped after its former president claimed he had been “thrown under the bus” and his position “misrepresented” in the striking of a controversial severance deal with the organisation’s former general secretary, Pat Smith.

Wed, 02 Dec, 2015

Downey asleep at the wheel - IFA pay scandal

Eddie Downey has said he does not regret his decision last week to resign as president of the Irish Farmers’ Association.

Wed, 02 Dec, 2015

VIDEO: Ex-IFA boss Eddie Downey: I’ve been thrown under the bus

Speaking for the first time since he resigned as president of the IFA, Eddie Downey has said he only became aware of the full remuneration package that general secretary Pat Smith was receiving on November 19 and he acted on that information within hours.

Tue, 01 Dec, 2015

Your Tuesday evening catch-up

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Tue, 01 Dec, 2015

Your Tuesday lunchtime catch-up

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime

Tue, 01 Dec, 2015

Public hasn’t an automatic right to know pay levels due to EU data protection law

The IFA’s former general secretary Pat Smith and president Eddie Downey find themselves as household names for all the wrong reasons.

Mon, 30 Nov, 2015

Ex-IFA president John Donnelly urges resignations of executive board members

A former president of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has urged the organisation’s entire executive board to resign immediately.

Mon, 30 Nov, 2015

IFA to pick president as fallout from payments controversy continues

After the most tumultuous week in its history, the Irish Farmers’ Association will next week begin the process of picking a new president, as the fallout from the controversy over payments continues.

Sat, 28 Nov, 2015