Farmers flocked to Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford, on Tuesday evening 30 January in an act of solidarity for their counterparts in Europe.

Over 20 farmers with tractors and more in cars came to show their support for farmers across France and Germany who have been protesting for a number of weeks.

Mark Connors from Kilmacthomas Irish Farmers' Association said that Tuesday's gathering was not a protest, but a "visual act of solidarity" and added that the support from local farmers was super.

Farmers parked their tractors over the N25 Waterford to Cork road, looking down on the motorway traffic so as not to cause a disruption.

"We saw what was happening across Europe and we wanted to empathise with them. We feel that we are being legislated out of business as well.

"The goal posts are always moving - the latest nitrates action plan has 28 or 30 new measures and will any of these measures have any effect on water quality? You can bet your bottom dollar that they'll have an effect on family farm viability.

"It was a rally of support; we didn't want to discommode or inconvenience anyone, so we parked directly over the N25 Waterford to Cork road," Connors said.

Kilmacthomas IFA chair Luke Casey told the Irish Farmers Journal that Irish farmers recognise European farmers’ plight and can associate with their grievances.

“We were surprised at the number of farmers who turned up based on something that was only organised the day before. Even though farmers, like myself, are snowed under at the minute and are busy calving, they still showed up.

“The French and German farmers are at breaking point and you can see that their emotions are spilling over into their actions. We just wanted to recognise what our counterparts in Europe stand for and the solidarity shown last night was very noticeable,” he said.