Call for marts to allow limited numbers to attend during lockdown
The collapse of an online bidding system at Irish marts over the weekend has led to renewed calls for farmers to be allowed to attend sales.
The problems resulted in delays at 17 livestock marts on Saturday with farmers unsure if they would be able to sell their stock for a time.
The Department of Agriculture appeared to be playing down the issue saying delays were kept to a minimum.
However IFA president and Toomevara farmer Tim Cullinan says the number of calls he received on Saturday showed it was a major issue.
“Everybody within the industry agrees that if there was a limited number within the sales ring at any one time it would alleviate the situation at the moment.”
“We’re right bang in the middle of the time of year where cattle are coming off the land and they have to be sold because obviously weather is getting wet and grass is disappearing.”
“A lot of cattle would have out there for the summer – they’d be bringing them into the mart – and they’d be moving on to farms where there is accommodation to finish those cattle over the winter. So it’s an absolutely critical time at the moment.”
