Former president of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Eddie Downey has been chosen to head a new forum within Fine Gael on agriculture and rural affairs.
The first meeting of the party’s new National Agricultural, Food and Rural Development Forum took place on Saturday (May 7) in Tullamore, Co. Offaly, following Fine Gael’s Special Conference on Agriculture and Rural Development at the same location.
An election took place at that meeting to choose the officers for the new forum, with Downey being elected chairperson.
Prior to the vote, candidates had two minutes to make their pitch.
During his speech, Downey said: “It’s a great pleasure to put my name forward, and I feel honoured to have the opportunity to do that.
“What we need to do with this [forum] is connect rural Ireland, plus the agricultural sector, to the Oireachtas, and we need to connect the Oireachtas back. We need to do it as a two-way street,” the former IFA president argued.
He added: “We’re looking at a situation at the moment where we have got a message going out there that we must do good by the climate change agenda. But we also must do good by the rural agenda.
“At the moment, what is happening is we do good for climate change, but wreck rural Ireland. That’s not acceptable.”
Downey argued: “We can do both. We can drive on agricultural production and make a difference, and we can drive the climate change agenda on the same way.”
The Co. Meath man farms in partnership with his wife Mary and son Patrick. They run a dairy, poultry and tillage farm.
He noted that he farms within the World Heritage site of Newgrange, and he addressed issues with getting planning permission there, saying “we have those issues in spades”.
He stated that this is a problem he would like to see resolved.
Another former IFA president, Alan Gillis, was fondly remembered at the forum meeting following his passing on Friday (May 6).
The former MEP passed away peacefully in the care of Craddock House Nursing Home in Naas, Co. Kildare.
A moment’s silence in his memory was held at Saturday’s forum meeting.