Counting of votes for the election of three Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) regional chair positions is about to begin at the count centre in west Dublin this evening (Tuesday, December 12).
The three regions are Connacht (five counties), Munster (nine counties) and South Leinster (12 counties).
James Gallagher from Co. Leitrim, and Brendan Golden from Co. Mayo are running for regional chair in Connacht.
According to Brendan Golden, his experience as IFA livestock chairperson over the last four years will be “very beneficial going forward”.
He told Agriland previously that this, along with sitting on state bodies as a representative of the IFA, has given him insight into policy at both a national and EU level.
The two issues Golden highlighted were protecting the production system for sustainable food, and, from an IFA point of view, reconnecting with farmers on the ground.
Meanwhile, according to James Gallagher, the issues affecting farmers in the north-west of the country “are not heard in Dublin that much”.
Gallagher previously told Agriland that the IFA needs to have greater involvement in the formation of farm schemes and measures that are developed at a political level.
The decline in the suckler herd, and the importance of suckler and sheep farmers to some parts of the country, is also of pressing importance to the Leitrim man.
Election of other regional chairs
Mark Connors from Co. Waterford, and Conor O’Leary from Cork Central are contesting for Munster regional chair.
Throughout their election campaign, both expressed concern over how the IFA communicates, with Connors focusing in on communication outside the organisation with media and society, and O’Leary drawing attention to the organisation’s internal communications, especially with members who might not be familiar with more modern forms of communication.
The public debate over farming’s role in environment and climate change is one area where Connors said proper communication is paramount.
Meanwhile, O’Leary said that electronic forms of communications should be more widely explored within IFA, but that the challenge would be to get some members of the association familiar with communicating in that way.
O’Leary also called a “team” approach in terms of how IFA deals with issues at a county level, rather than issues being solely the responsibility of the relevant officer.
South Leinster
Tom Byrne from Wicklow, Pat Farrell from Kildare and Paul O’Brien from Kilkenny are battling it out for the South Leinster regional chair position.
During his election campaign, Thomas Byrne told Agriland, one of the main concerns for the IFA, and the wider farming community, is that the sector is not proactive enough in its communication with the public on environmental issues.
He also suggested that the IFA should also be more open to working with the other leading farm organisations in the country.
Pat Farrell, said that the main issue for him was “the ground we’ve lost in IFA in the last number of years”.
The big area where ground had been lost, according to Farrell, is on the nitrates derogation.
Meanwhile, during his election campaign, Paul O’Brien criticised the government for its lack of communication with farmer representatives, and farmers themselves.
O’Brien also highlighted the inadequacy of current farm payments and schemes.
Stay tuned to Agriland for all of the latest from the count centre, where the team will bring you the most-up-date results.