A group calling itself the Independent Farmers of Ireland held a meeting on Monday night to elect representatives for the farmers currently protesting outside factories.

Representatives of protesters from all nine ongoing protests were in attendance.

From these, three spokespeople were elected “to speak and negotiate on behalf of all the peacefully protesting independent farmers of Ireland”.

In a statement issued on Monday night, the group said it had no leader, but that the three elected individuals were willing to enter talks with the Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed.

“We wish for Minister Creed to step up and call for talks to begin,” the group's statement read.

“As discussed within this meeting, the consensus seems to be throughout the country that the Independent Farmers of Ireland will continue their peaceful protest for as long as needed, or until such a time that our three elected representatives are allowed negotiate on our behalf."

Demands

The group also outlined a number of demands:

  • All injunctions placed on farmers to be removed and that no farmer be held liable for costs.
  • An independent review of the beef supply chain to determine the value of a complete beef carcase, including the fifth quarter and the value which is allocated to the farmer.
  • The removal of the 30-month, 24-month and 16-month age limits as a criteria for the in-spec bonus.
  • The removal of the 70-day residency period on the last farm prior to slaughter as a criteria for the in-spec bonus.
  • Establishment of exact requirements for movements.
  • Stop the importation of non-Irish beef.
  • Clear and transparent labelling for beef’s country of origin.
  • No discrimination against anyone who protested outside a factory.
  • A review of quality assurance certification for grass-fed beef and feedlot beef.
  • Independent monitoring of the upcoming review of the grid to ensure accurate information is supplied by all sides.
  • An explanation from Minister Creed and Fine Gael as to how they felt the beef talks reached a successful conclusion.

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