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The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) has urged meat processors to lift their threat of legal action against individual farmers and respect the right to protest.
“Farmers should be afforded the same rights as all other citizens and this includes the right to protest,” INHFA president Colm O’Donnell stated.
He said the decision by meat plants to target farmers “who feel they have nothing left to lose” through the courts had only galvanised support. He said there was now a real possibility of a prolonged stand-off that would inflict major damage on both the beef and sheep sectors.
O’Donnell called on Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed to prioritise roundtable discussions between farm organisations, Meat Industry Ireland (MII) and other stakeholders.
In his opinion, any resumed talks should focus on the 30-month rule, minimum residency and the four-movement rule as these were “major stumbling blocks in delivering fairness” to protesting farmers.
“We need to avoid at all costs the prospect of imprisonment for any farmer as this could well be a tipping point that we may not be able come back from,” O’Donnell said.
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