IFA president Joe Healy has called Meat Industry Ireland’s (MII) move to take legal action against farmers protesting as “heavy-handed, ill-advised and counter-productive”.

He called on MII to set aside any preconditions and enter the talks proposed by the Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed.

“Hauling beef farmers before the courts is not the answer to the hugely significant challenges facing the sector,” Healy said, adding that MII should not proceed with legal action and instead focus on solutions to the crisis.

Four Courts

"This problem will not be solved in the Four Courts,” he said.

Referring to the Beef Plan Movement protest outside 22 factories, Healy said the dispute was a product of the desperation farmers find themselves in.

“The reality is that if we don’t improve the situation of farmers, we won’t have any beef sector at all, as farmers will go out of business.”

Healy said that Minister Creed should convene talks today and make it clear to MII that he expected it to attend.