Coveney ‘slow to react’ to fodder crisis

The president of the Irish Farmers’ Association has said Simon Coveney, the agriculture minister, “doesn’t understand how serious” the fodder crisis is and accused him of being “very slow to react”.

Speaking yesterday after a meeting of agriculture industry representatives in Co Laois, John Bryan said: “It is quite clear that he doesn’t understand how serious this crisis is.”

“In several parts of the country, in Leitrim, in North Roscommon, Sligo, this crisis will continue for another three, four weeks even if the weather took up next week,” Mr Bryan said.