FARMERS PROTESTED OUTSIDE fast food outlet Burger King today in Tullamore.
The protest, which was organised by the Irish Farmers’ Association, was over cuts in beef pricing, and demanding fair pricing.
A spokesperson for the IFA said they have held a number of meetings and many protests.
Tonight, they held their fourth meeting in Tullamore.
It is understood Burger King weren’t very happy with the protest, and also that the gardaí were called. There were no arrests.
The purpose of the protest “was to send a message to their supplier”, which is a meat processor which is supplied by farmers. The IFA members have an issue with the price they are being paid for supplying meat processors in Ireland.
“The message is for a number of people,” said the spokesperson. “It’s for those who are the retailers, the processors and its also for government, in this case the Minister for Agriculture. It’s very much directed at him as well.”
The IFA will bring its campaign to the Ploughing Championships next week, to highlight its message.
The spokesperson said that consumers are very price aware, but that in the last year they haven’t seen any reduction in what they pay for beef, whereas farmers have seen a change in what they are paid.
President of the IFA Eddie Downey, said recently:
With beef prices down by €200 per head from the last and at incomes ranging from €9,469 to €15,595, as confirmed by Teagasc, livestock farmers feel angry and frustrated that their issues are being ignored.
Minister Simon Coveney met with representatives from the Irish beef processing industry earlier this month about the problems in the sector.
He said afterwards:
I called on processors to show further flexibility on weight specifications and I am pleased to say that they have now indicated that they are open to that. While matters such as price and commercial specifications are ultimately issues for the operators in the marketplace, there is a clear need at this stage for some confidence building measures for beef farmers.
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