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Farmers Will not Call for a Yes Vote
Read more about: Agriculture and Rural, Irish Politics, Lisbon Treaty
Today’s Sunday Times story would have been old news had the IFA Executive Council meeting gone ahead last week and not been delayed. As it stands the IFA are due to decide their position on Tuesday or Wednesday. There are at least 28 members of the 53 member of the Executive Council calling for a ‘no’ vote and the pressure on Walshe to go farther than SIPTU’s fudge-hedge position will be immense - according to the Democratic Alliance for a No Vote, though not in the Times article.
Its clear to see why this will happen, a majority of farmers are intending to vote ‘no’ and the union wont go against its members.
The IFA has to make the call now or else lose relevance with its membership. That the WTO proposals which would be so destructive to the Irish economy, not just the agri sector, were allowed to remain on the table was outrageous. The ICMSA may have moved towards the yes side but the IFA needs to stand up and be counted and represent its membership.
You may have spoken a bit early. WTO reforms or not, the EU has been immensely beneficial for Irish farmers.