Around 50 farmers left their Cavan homes in the gloom of the early winter morning to head to Dublin for a tractor protest.

"We’re going to the Dáil to see if this Government is going to do anything for the farmers," Cavan farmer John Daly told the Irish Farmers Journal.

He said that farmers had been left behind during the Celtic Tiger.

"We all feel now that this Government has let down the farmers. I think farmers are angry on the ground and they’ve had enough. As well as that beef prices at the minute are 30c less than the average across the board," Daly added.

"We’re meeting in Merrion Square around 12pm and then the Dáil is sitting around 2pm. We’re sending in a letter on behalf of the farmers of Ireland."

Although the protest is expected to span two days, it is not yet known how many farmers will take part.

Claire Nutley a representative of the individual farmers said that the protest is to “get the farmers on the ground listened to and to highlight the problems facing rural Ireland”.

She told the Irish Farmers Journal that over 1,000 people are expected in Dublin, with up to 500 tractors.

Farmers are to meet at Merrion Square at 11am before marching towards the Dáil, with tractors in tow.

Kildare St and Molesworth St in Dublin are closed today as a result of the planned farmer protest, a Garda spokesperson confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal.

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