Beef and sheep farmer Francie Gorman from Co. Laois has been elected as South Leinster Regional Chairperson of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
He beat off competition from his opponent James Kehoe from Co. Wexford in the election which was conducted via postal voting by county officers and branch delegates in the eight county executives of South Leinster region.
Francie Gorman is a member of the Ballinakill branch and was nominated for the role by Laois IFA and AgriLand understands he won the position with a substantial majority.
He previously held the position of IFA Laois county chairperson and has been involved with IFA for 20 years.
Gorman’s priorities
During the election campaign, Gorman had told AgriLand that one of his first priorities is to gauge opinion from branches on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and current trade deals.
He has also stated that farmers should not have to carry the cost of a fallout from Brexit.
Gorman previously said: “There’s a huge amount of dry stock farmers, beef farmers in particular, that are going to be impacted disproportionately in the event of a hard Brexit.”
On other priority areas, Gorman highlighted the need for Irish grain to be recognised as a premium product for the feed and drinks industries. Meanwhile, a €30/head Sheep Welfare Scheme was also underlined as a must for him going forward.