Farmers to hold demonstration outside Government Buildings

The Irish Farmer's Association is to hold a demonstration outside Government Buildings today in protest at Peter Mandelson's handling of the world trade talks.

The organisation says it will be maintaining constant vigilance as a critical phase of the trade negotiations begins in Geneva this week.

It says that if necessary, it will call on the Taoiseach's veto commitment to prevent what it says will be the destruction of the Irish farming sector if the current WTO deal is pushed through.

The IFA says that the deal would cost the Irish economy €4bn in losses every year and 50,000 farmers would be put out of business.

IFA president Padraig Walshe says when he meets President Sarkozy later today, he will tell him that if the deal goes through, it will profoundly damage support in rural Ireland for Lisbon.

ICSA president Malcolm Thompson said this morning that "it is still not too late for the Irish government to block a bad WTO deal".

Speaking from Geneva, he said: " The Government must now re-double its efforts on maintaining a coalition of opposition to a deal that could undermine European agriculture for many years to come."