Yesterday evening farmers gathered outside Athlone Springs Hotel in hopes of speaking to Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue.
The Minister was in attendance at a meeting held by the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) where issues related to the impact of green policies on farming were discussed.
Frustrated by what they said was the Minister’s failure to advocate for their needs the farmers explained how tax increases related to climate policies are making it increasingly difficult for them to farm their land with one farmer saying that he pays out €450 in carbon tax “everytime” an oil lorry comes into his yard.
“I cannot put a slurry tank on a bicycle, so I can’t.” he said adding that there were farmers in attendance “that have been waiting since last October for payment on the acre scheme.”
‘Farmers had a poor Christmas’
Around 60 farmers gathered outside the hotel lining the adjacent road with tractors while others held a sign saying, ‘No farmers, no food’.
Gript spoke to an agricultural contractor who said that while people who had come to Ireland last year as refugees had benefited from bonus Christmas pay, many farmers had gone without wages.
“Farmers had a poor Christmas,” he said, adding that he works for them
Saying many farmers “can’t pay their bills” he added, “If the farmers are not making money, I’m not getting paid,” he said.
Young farmers in attendance spoke of their fear at not being able to continue on intergenerational farming due to rising cost and increasing bureaucracy.
Inside the ICSA meeting, TD Claire Kerrane said that moves needed to be made in order to ensure farmers could enjoy a good quality of life in return for their agricultural efforts. She said that the Department of Agriculture also played a role in “farmer bashing” and that this was putting “huge pressure” on those involved in the industry.
Questions were asked as to what is being done to bring young farmers back from abroad with one attendee saying that his son had left for New Zealand in hopes of pursuing a better life. The man said that his son had met 30 other young Irish men there who had left Ireland to seek better opportunities.
Cows -vs- cars
The outgoing president of the ICSA, Dermot Kelleher, spoke of his experiences of farming for 50 years.
He expressed his frustration saying that when he was young there was barely a car on the road and now that ‘almost everyone’ has cars cows are being held responsible for issues related to climate change.
He said that back then there were 7.4 million cattle in Ireland and that that figure remained relatively unchanged,
“Yet they’re telling me it’s my cows that are to blame,” he said.
As the ICSA meeting drew to a close around 9:30pm those gathered outside the hotel were hopeful of speaking to Minister McConalogue.
One farmer told Gript that he wanted the minister to acknowledge the concerns of those present.
When the minister did not approach those in attendance, frustration grew with many of those in attendance expressing that while they had been respectful of the meeting they felt as though the minister was not returning that respect.
One young farmer accused the minister of having “no integrity” saying that as a small farmer he felt as though McConalogue was not interested in representing him.
As those who had attended the meeting inside the hotel began to filter out the minister was seen entering the hotel bar.
There was growing anger and frustration when the Minister was seen sitting in a corner drinking while the farmers waited outside the hotel entrance.
Minister leaves the scene
Six Gardaí arrived on the scene in two groups and entered the hotel where they engaged with staff. At around midnight they instructed everyone who was not a resident at the hotel to leave as the lobby was no longer a public place as the bar and restaurant were now shut.
By this point only two Gardaí remained on the scene while the crowd had dwindled to around 25 people, some of whom had been waiting in the lobby area in hopes of seeing the minister when he left the bar.
Gript attempted to approach the minister for an interview but Gardaí told us that they would not allow us to enter the bar as we were not residents of the hotel.
Just before 1am, as the number of farmers had dwindled to about 10, Minister McConalogue was seen being escorted behind the bar and out through a kitchen entrance.