Following discussions with management at a beef processing facility in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, representatives of the Beef Plan Movement have decided to suspend its protest at the site.

The protest was suspended this afternoon, Wednesday, July 31, following a judgement call by the chairperson of the south-west region, Dermot O’Brien.

According to a spokesperson from the Beef Plan’s national committee, in O’Brien’s assessment of a number of individuals who were not abiding by the Beef Plan’s protest guidelines, the decision was made for the Beef Plan to suspend its protest at the site until further notice.

The spokesperson noted that protests will continue as normal in other locations subject to protestors abiding by the guidelines set.

The spokesperson added: “Management at the site in Nenagh gave a commitment that they would contact Meat Industry Ireland (MII) requesting it to engage with Beef Plan members whose contact information were provided.”

Protestors demands

Speaking to AgriLand, Eoin Donnelly of the Beef Plan Movement said: “We want a meaningful proposal back from MII on what they propose to do so that farmers get a fair share of the retail price.

“We’re being absolutely categorical with our members; they are not to ask for a price per kilo because that’s against competition rules for us to do that so we’re not going to do that.

It’s going to continue until further notice; until we either get meaningful engagement or we pull the plug – one of the two.

“There’s nothing stopping us going again, if we pull the plug; we might take a week off and then go at it again. That’s what’s going to happen,” Donnelly concluded.