IFA presidential candidates set out their stalls before a packed Horse & Jockey Hotel last night.
The latest hustings saw those hoping to succeed Toomevara’s Tim Cullinan try to win the support of Tipperary farmers.
Limerick based Martin Stapleton and Francie Gorman from Laois are the two in the running for the top spot in the farming organisation.
Francie says he is determined to get the IFA back where it belongs as a major influencer.
“I want this job because I believe in IFA as an association that can deliver in a positive way for farmers. I think over the last number of years we’ve lost our position as a powerful voice for farmers that can communicate the needs of farmers in a strong, positive way and restore ourselves as a political powerhouse and be able to deliver for farmers in terms of income particularly. Because income – either indirectly or directly – is the one issue that’s always coming up, its always there and it has to be addressed.”
For his part Martin says there are a number of major issues.
“The biggest issue facing farmers is their sense that society doesn’t respect them anymore for all that they do. There’s a huge sense out there that farmers are being blamed incredibly unfairly for much of the climate change and the environmental issues and the cutbacks that have to come. They’re being blamed for the water quality not being good enough. You have to combine that then with the difficult year we’ve had where commodity prices have fallen across the board, input prices have risen, there’s been bad weather, labour is really difficult to find.”
