Members of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA), Macra na Feirme and Beef Plan Movement will be brought before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine to give addresses later today, Tuesday, April 16.
The meeting will be a continuation of the committee’s investigation into the future of the Irish beef industry in the context of Food Wise 2025.
Leading the ICSA delegation, organisation president Patrick Kent, beef chairman Edmund Graham and secretary general Eddie Punch will all attend the meeting on behalf of the cattle farmers’ association.
The ICSA highlighted a number of key priorities to AgriLand ahead of the meeting, which will be addressed.
A number of other issues will be highlighted by the organisation surrounding the issues of trade and transparency.
Macra na Feirme, the young farmers and rural youth organisation, will also take to the floor before the committee.
It is expected that improving prices and making farming a more attractive option for prospective young farmers will be high on the agenda.
Meanwhile, the Beef Plan Movement intends to “tell it like it is”.
Speaking to AgriLand ahead of the meeting, chairperson and spokesperson for the movement Eamon Corley said:
“We’re going in and we’re going to be telling it as it is.
We’re looking for the politicians to face up to the real problems that are there and take the farmer’s view into account.
“We’re busy getting preparations done for it now.”