IFA split would not be in anyone’s interest

WITH the executive-pay crisis threatening to rip the Irish Farmers’ Association asunder, it would not be surprising if further revelations come to light concerning the pay, pensions and perks of those at the top of Ireland’s most powerful lobby group. Moreover, with some irate farmers already cancelling their membership, the danger that it could be riven by the proverbial ‘split’, a cancer which has destroyed many an Irish organisation in the past, cannot be dismissed.

Its 90,000 members are reeling following the sudden resignation of IFA president Eddie Downey amid a scandal surrounding the scale of a golden handshake and the pension package given to ex-secretary general Pat Smith. They were incensed when he called for his €1 million severance payment lump sum to be given to charity.

Meanwhile, the public yesterday saw another side of the farming community in action when the Irish Creamery Milk Supplier Association (ICMSA) held its annual meeting in Limerick. Though much smaller in comparison with the IFA, its 16,000 members also carry considerable clout. That explains why EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan and Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney were both at the meeting where delegate after delegate told them in no uncertain terms how angry they were over current milk prices.