Protest against executive board planned for next IFA council meeting

The planned demonstration was brought to the attention of media on Monday via an open letter from ordinary Limerick IFA member Donal O'Brien.

O'Brien, a beef suckler farmer from Pallaskenry, Co Limerick, wrote the letter in order to express "deep frustration" with the IFA executive board’s "arrogance and disrespect" for the views of the ordinary grassroots IFA member.

O'Brien says the current executive board's refusal to step down means the organisation cannot return to representing farmers' interests: "How can the organisation return to normality with the same executive board who oversaw this debacle remaining in power? How can they be trusted?"

The suckler farmer has also raised questions over the secrecy that surrounded the vote of no confidence in the executive board that took place at the last national executive council meeting on 15 December. He has also asked how and why the former IFA president Eddie Downey was "allowed to attend and participate" in the IFA national council meeting on 15 December and why IFA county executives were not given the opportunity to examine the Con Lucey report in advance of voting on the motion of no confidence of the current IFA executive board.

O'Brien has said that in his view there are two options available to IFA members at this time: "One is to withdraw our funding to the IFA which will cause its collapse or, the second is to take a stand and fight to save the IFA and the interests of its 88,000 members. A considerable number of Limerick IFA members, including myself, have decided to stage a protest outside the next meeting of the national council at the Irish Farm Centre, Bluebell, on 5 January 2016, and we invite all IFA members with the aspiration to SAVE OUR IFA to join us in this protest."

At the last Limerick IFA county executive meeting on Thursday 17 December, three motions were passed, one of which was that the current executive board of the IFA should do the "honourable thing for the good of the association and resign immediately".

Aidan Gleeson, Limerick county chair, confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that a large number of Limerick IFA members expressed an interest at the meeting in "going to Dublin on 5 January to support the county chairs whose members have voted for the resignation of the executive board". Other counties to have called for the resignation of the board since the Lucey report are Kilkenny IFA and Galway IFA.

Gleeson said he would not label it a "protest" as much as he would call it a "show of support" for those county chairs.

"The executive board needs to show accountability to the members," he said. "The report from Con Lucey shows there is a disconnect between the ordinary members and the top table. Limerick IFA is very unified on this. This is the first time since the Lucey report that members have asked directly for something so the board should not turn a deaf ear to them."

Meeting on national executive committee

Meanwhile, the first implementation of the recommendations in Con Lucey's report took place on Monday with a meeting of the national executive committee. The former national executive committee was removed as a result of the Dowling review in 2005, and consisted of members of the executive board and the chairs of the national committees.

Lucey's report proposed that these meetings "be restored as the key structures in the association for developing and pursuing ongoing policy initiatives. Policy proposals should be transmitted from members/branches/county executives through the national committee structure." Lucey added the committee should meet at a minimum of twice a year.

Speaking before the meeting, which took place on Monday in the Irish Farm Centre, IFA national environment committee chair Harold Kingston said it was an "excellent proposal" and he looked forward to the exchange of ideas that would take place. "In my four years as environment chair we have only met twice, so I think meeting more regularly will be of great benefit. We can set out our policy direction and get immediate feedback from the board."

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Full coverage: Con Lucey report