The last meeting of the dairy forum took place in March 2016 and the last meeting of the beef forum took place in December 2015.

Creed, one of the founding members of the dairy forum, said he would be convening the meetings to discuss income volatility in both sectors, especially in the dairy sector. However, the minister disagreed with a suggestion from Fianna Fáil TD Charlie McConalogue that he should meet both forums together to find a common plan to tackle low farm incomes.

"I don't propose a joint meeting because both of the sectors have different issues," he said.

The minister said he has already met with many of the stakeholders in the industry to discuss price volatility in farming, including the IFA, ICSA and ICMSA. He added that he will soon be meeting with the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association.

According to Teagasc's National Farm Survey, published in May, milk price was down by almost 20% in 2015, and income on dairy farms fell by 4% to an average of €63,020. It is expected that the income decrease on dairy farmes will be much sharper when the figures for 2016 are published.

Suckler and beef farms returned a low income at an average of €12,904 and relied significantly on direct payments, while lamb price increases of 2% last year, combined with cheaper inputs, led to an average 8% increase in income for sheep farms, to an average of €15,791.

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