The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has commenced a protest in response to excessive carcass trimming by factories outside Agriculture House.

Meeting at the Department of Agriculture’s headquarters on Kildare Street, a number of the IFA’s Livestock Committee, including livestock chair Angus Woods, gathered with protest placards and sleeping bags in tow.

IFA president Joe Healy is also present at the rally, which included 25-30 protesters.

According to members present, some of the farmers intend on remaining in the building until the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, releases the names of the factories involved in the 19 instances of excessive carcass trimming so far in 2018.

Speaking to AgriLand outside Agriculture House, Healy said the protest is being held to get answers and to get the factories named.

The IFA had a meeting with the minister recently and got a “paltry response”, according to Healy.

“We got no answer essentially. The minister in his response was cosying up to factories. Beef returns are low enough without the trimming as well,” the president said.

‘Farmers entitled to know’

Speaking in Leinster House yesterday, Minister Creed outlined that farmers who had been affected by such practices have a right to know which factories were at fault.

I believe any carcass that has been excessively trimmed, that the farmers involved are entitled to know the identity of the factories involved.

“And as you are aware from our engagement last Thursday on this matter, in the context of the ultimate inaccountability and the naming of those factories to farmers, any individual farmer where a carcass has been identified as having been excessively trimmed will be notified by that factory of that matter and duly compensated for it.”