Farmers start 24-hour protest at Mayo factories

PROTEST?Farmers protesting outside Jennings Meats in Ballinrobe yesterday evening (Monday). They are protesting for 24 hours, finishing this afternoon (Tuesday) at 3pm.

Farmers start 24 hour protest of Mayo meat factories


Anton McNulty

BEEF farmers from across Mayo are staging a 24 hour protest outside the three meat factories in the county to highlight their anger over low beef prices.
The nationwide protest organised by the IFA began yesterday afternoon at 3pm in Mayo with farmers protesting outside the meat factories in Ballina, Ballyhaunis and Ballinrobe.
The IFA organised the protest at what they see as the unfair price given to farmers for their beef compared to what UK farmers are given, and the price for beef in supermarkets.
Padraic Joyce, Chairman of Mayo IFA, said the farmers’ protest was not a blockade of the factories but a bid to highlight their anger at how farmers are being treated.
“The reason for the 24 hour protest is because for the past three months we have been talking to the factories and there is no sign of them bringing up the price of beef. There is a difference of €350 per livestock unit between farmers in the UK and Ireland and we feel we are entitled to more money.
“Irish farmers are losing a lot of money and are paid €3.80 per kilo compared to what the consumer might pay, which is anything between €7 to €18 per kilo for beef. We have not been getting a fair deal at all and the factories have taken €250 million from the pockets of Irish farmers this year,” he told The Mayo News.
The IFA have set up a rota system which will allow farmers to man the three protests in the county for the full 24 hours.
Mr Joyce said they also wanted to highlight the obstacles against farmers put in place by factories such as restrictions on the age and weight of the animal. He said farmers are being penalised by these restrictions, imposed only by the factories.
Mr Joyce also added that the price of beef will have a ‘knock-on’ affect on Mayo farmers as they won’t be able to sell their weanlings to larger farmers.
“This is serious for Mayo farmers because we produce a lot of weanlings which are sold to farmers in other parts of the country.
“If the farmer in the south or east is not getting their money they will stop buying weanlings. This protest is important to us and it is important that we support it,” he said.
The protests are taking place outside Jennings Meats in Ballinrobe, Dawn Meats in Ballyhaunis and Dunleavy Meats in Ballina.