As Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue nears completion of his tour of marts around the country, one mart manager has expressed frustration over the limit on numbers during mart sales.

The minister’s mart visits – part of a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) ‘consultation tour’ – have generally drawn sizeable crowds, particularly in recent days as a result of protests at those events, led by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).

Video footage from these events suggest that the numbers of people attending marts to engage with the minister were as much – if not more – as might have been at these marts for a sale in pre-Covid times (although the footage also shows that the vast majority, if not all, of the attendees at the minister’s visits wore appropriate face-coverings).

However, for Donegal Livestock Mart manager, and chairperson of Mart Managers of Ireland (MMI), Eimear McGuinness, the discrepancy between the numbers at the minister’s meetings – as well as the numbers allowed into pubs, nightclubs and similar establishments – and the numbers allowed at marts is becoming a source of serious frustration.

“The minister is holding these big meetings everyday [while] we can only have 27 people around the ring,” McGuinness told Agriland.

McGuinness said she has phoned Minister McConalogue’s department on this matter and was told by an official there that they understood her frustration.

McGuinness said she asked for a meeting with department personnel on the matter, but no such meeting has taken place yet.

“We don’t mind following rules. We have put so much effort into doing things right and trying to keep people safe.

“The government has forgotten about marts [in the opening up process]. How can they let everything else open and not marts?,” the Donegal mart manager added.

She also pointed to other video footage that emerged over the weekend of large queues outside a certain Dublin nightclub.

McGuinness explained that the mart in Donegal has continued to take public health precautions, including the recording of names of those who enter the mart; maintaining social distancing; and mandating the wearing of face-coverings.

McGuinnness told Agriland that she will not limit the numbers around the ring for the next cattle sale at her mart (except as will be necessary to maintain social distancing), unless the department propose a change of the current rules for marts in the coming days.

She stressed that, even if the mart goes ahead with larger numbers, rules around social distancing, wearing of face-coverings; and various other health measures will remain in place there.