What was described as an “unplanned collection” at the recent Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) protest in Co. Cavan has raised €650, which has been donated to Pieta.
On Wednesday (October 5) the IFA protest at the Lidl supermarket in Cavan was stood down twelve hours after the IFA protest at Aldi, Cavan, had finished.
According to the IFA, farmers withdrew “as a show of good faith to allow negotiations to be completed between the egg suppliers and the supermarkets”.
A statement from the farm lobby group to Agriland this week said: “An agreement on price was subsequently reached that will result in a fairer margin being passed back to the egg producer.”
Monaghan IFA chairperson Patrick McCormick commented: “We are very grateful to all the stakeholders involved in the negotiations who ultimately came to an agreement.”
The IFA’s poultry committee vice-chairperson Brendan Soden said: “It was a tough week for all involved, including the customers of both supermarkets.”
Soden continued: “Many people stopped to talk and listen to us and understand why we were holding the protest. Some people didn’t agree with what we were doing and made their points to us and we took this onboard too.”
How the money was raised for charity
Commenting on how the money was raised for Pieta, the IFA’s Ulster/North Leinster regional chairperson Frank Brady said: “The egg producers handed out boxes of local eggs for free to customers leaving the shops, as a good will gesture to those who stopped to talk.
“Many customers wanted to donate some money rather that take the eggs for nothing, so the farmers set up a charity box as the days passed,” Brady added.
“When all was over, we had €650 collected which has been assembled in a cheque and donated to local Pieta services.”
The money was donated through Michael McKenna, who is a poultry farmer and representative for Pieta.
“It was an unplanned collection and we would like to thank every person who put money into the fund,” Brady concluded.