Members of the Irish Farmers Association protested a meeting of Cork County Council this morning as part of their ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign against restrictions placed on them by green policies.
Cork Airport this morning #enoughisenough pic.twitter.com/3Oa8Akc8Ir
— Irish Farmers' Association (@IFAmedia) February 26, 2024
After a meeting with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar last week, IFA president Francis Gorman said that it was “quite clear that the actions taken by our members on the ground over the last month have not gone unnoticed.”
He continued by highlighting the “frustrations of farmers” in relation to the way issues such as nitrates irrigation and late payments were handled.
“Immediate supports” for the tillage sector and ash dieback “were top of the agenda for us” he said
“Issues around VAT refund, work permits, and the zoned residential land tax were also raised.” he said adding that it was a “clear message to the Taoiseach” that “ immediate delivery” on these issues was needed.
Gorman said his message to IFA members on the ground was to “keep up the actions over the next number of weeks in the lead up to elections,”.
The protests are in line with the farmer’s protests seen across Europe in recent weeks in countries such as The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France, Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Belgium, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, and more where farmers have said green policies are making it increasingly difficult for them to farm their land.
There are dozens of tractors here doing laps of the road into the airport. pic.twitter.com/rN28uBRuEL
— Kathleen O'Sullivan (@Kathleen_OSull) February 26, 2024
The protest gathered shortly after 7am this morning with farmers gathering at Little Island, Angler’s Rest, and Five Mile Bridge before moving on in the direction of Cork Airport.
Reporting for the Irish Independent, reporter Kathleen O’Sullivan, said “Crowds of farmers with tractors have made their way to Cork Airport as part of a morning of protests in the county. Farmers are targeting the airport in a bid to highlight their ‘frustrations in what they feel are unfair measurements around agricultural emissions’.”
Crowds of farmers with tractors have made their way to Cork Airport as part of a morning of protests in the county. Farmers are targeting the airport in a bid to highlight their ‘frustrations in what they feel are unfair measurements around agricultural emissions’ pic.twitter.com/dZaFSfNFd7
— Kathleen O'Sullivan (@Kathleen_OSull) February 26, 2024
At approximately 9am the tractors arrived outside Cork County Hall.
The tractors have arrived outside Cork County Hall. pic.twitter.com/PZVEP7IbGc
— Irish Farmers' Association (@IFAmedia) February 26, 2024
At a recent protest outside a meeting of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association where Minister for Agriculture Charlie Mc Conalogue was in attendance, farmers told Gript that government policy is ‘unfairly targeting’ them in relation to agricultural emissions.
Members of the ICSA told Gript that said young farmers were being “driven off the land” as increasing regulations on farming were causing the industry to be less and less profitable while the ‘back breaking’ nature of the work continues.
Former ICSA president Dermot Kelleher slammed what he call the “anti-livestock, anti-meat, vegan agenda” questioning why the scale of the national herd – which he says has remained relatively unchanged – is being singled out as a major cause of environmental damage.