‘We’re in a holding position now’
Seamus Enright
One of the heads of the Beef Plan Movement nationally has called for “calm heads”, noting that talks between meat processors, farming organisations, and Government agencies aimed at resolving the ongoing dispute over pricing are now at a “delicate” stage.
“Things are a delicate point,” says Michael Rafferty, chair of the Beef Plan Movement in Monaghan. He said that the six farm organisations- IFA, ICSA, Macra, ICMSA, and the INHFA- are now giving Meat Industry Ireland (MII) the “time and space” to discuss matters with their own members.
“We’re asking farmers to give the thing a chance until we hear back from factories,” he said.
Mr Rafferty described the 12-hour talks that took place on Monday, which included the potential development of a price index to help relate prices for processed beef in the market back to the prices paid to farmers, were at times “hot and heavy” and “tense”.
But South-Monaghan suckler farmer Mr Rafferty feels that the round-table sit down showed a welcome return to “unity” among the main farming representative organisations. “The six farming organisations were very much united. I think that changed the dynamic of the discussions compared to previous round-table discussions that have happened where individual organisations vigorously pursued their own individual agendas. I think unity amongst the farming organisations is something the Beef Plan are catalysts for, and we’re delighted that these organisations recognise the situation affecting beef farming in Ireland as something which simply can’t be allowed to continue.”
Farmers on the front-line, protesting outside at the Seamus Mallon owned Liffey Meats’ factory in Ballyjamesduff on Saturday morning, were visibly angered when news first filtered through that they had been ordered to stand down.
The Beef Plan Movement had consistently rejected calls from both MII and the Minister for talks under the precondition that the protests are first called off. This developed further as factories warned they would commence legal proceedings.
One very irate farmer expressed his view to the Celt that “the rug’s been pulled from underneath us” after Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed formally announced that negotiations would take place, with an independent chairperson presiding over an agreed agenda.
As part of that, the Beef Plan have agreed to stand down all protests at meat factories, while the legal proceedings initiated by five processors are also suspended with immediate effect.
Following the cessation of the late-night discussions, further meetings are expected to take place either later this week or next.
But the same farmer at the gates, before reluctantly leaving, did however warn: “We will be back... if we don’t like what we hear.”
In calling for calm, Mr Rafferty admitted: “I can sympathise with those farmers and that point of view. I really can. But I think, coming back to the theme of unity, we are in a much better position. I think that as a collective, to enter into talks is the right thing to do now. We need to give this thing a chance, and we’d ask farmers in Cavan and the other counties not to do anything rash, because the best results typically come through dialogue.”
Sinn Fein leader in Ballyjamesduff
On Thursday evening, the Sinn Féin president called for solidarity among farmers and factory workers when she attended the beef farmers’ protest outside Liffey Meats.
Mary Lou McDonald spent about an hour listening to the concerns of the farmers from the Beef Plan Movement staging the protest at the plant on the outskirts of Ballyjamesduff, before answering questions from the media.
“I think in circumstances where people’s livelihoods are threatened and where they are on their knees they have a perfect right to take a stand,” she said. Deputy McDonald was the first of the party leaders to attend any of the dozen or so protests nationally, and she was welcomed by Beef Plan spokesman Micheál Rafferty who was grateful for the support.