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.

John Donnelly, who was IFA president between 1994 and 1998, said the current deputy president, the national treasurer, and all four regional chairmen should step down.

He is the first former leader of the organisation to speak out about the recent controversy over pay levels.

The crisis has seen the resignation of two IFA board members so far — former president Eddie Downey and former general secretary Pat Smith.

In addition to calling for the resignation of the entire executive board, Mr Donnelly also called for elections to select a new president to be postponed for a six-month period to allow the IFA time to regroup.

“I think because of the level of anger among members on the ground I think it would be the wrong time to have an election,” Mr Donnelly told RTÉ News. “I think what we need to do now is stabilise the organisation.”

Former president Eddie Downey and former general secretary Pat Smith

Currently, vacancies on the IFA executive board must be filled within 60 days. As such, Mr Donnelly proposed a meeting of the association’s county chairs and national committee chairs be held to amend this stipulation and delay the elections.

In the interim, he suggested the organisation’s 29 county chairmen could oversee the running of the IFA and its day-to-day operations.

Mr Donnelly said: “I’m calling on the executive board to resign immediately and I’m requesting that the 29 county chairmen across the county convene a meeting of council and change the rules to cater for this exceptional situation we’re in at the moment.”

Mr Donnelly, a 68-year-old Galway farmer, said grassroots members of the IFA from all over the country have contacted him to voice their anger and frustration about the recent pay scale controversy, which is why he has decided to go public with his views.

While he expects some of those who have previously held senior IFA roles will be unhappy with his statements, he said he feels it is his duty to speak out and to try and safeguard the organisation against permanent damage.

He said he had no idea about the scale of payments that have made, and said the amounts were far more than what he received during his own four- year term as IFA president.

He told RTÉ News that when he was elected president, he received around £20,000 a year to cover the cost of employing someone to run his farm. He said he was also in receipt of vouched expenses.

In recent days, Mr Donnelly has contacted the IFA to find out exactly how much money he received.