Donegal farmers will join nationwide protest in Letterkenny this evening

Donegal farmers will join their counterparts in a nationwide protest, expected to get underway this evening at 7pm.

A meeting of the IFA National Council on Wednesday evening agreed on the action, with Irish farmers around the country will be out in solidarity with their EU counterparts.

Donegal IFA and Donegal Farmers will be out in support of our EU farming communities, with tractors heading into Letterkenny.

“Please support this protest by meeting along the Hard Shoulder of the Dual Carriageway on the inbound lane into Letterkenny,” organisers said. “This will be a peaceful protest. Come along and support our Irish Farmers.”

The demonstrations, led by the IFA, are in support of farmers in France, Germany, Belgium and other countries who have been protesting about over-regulation, onerous bureaucracy and income pressure.

Aontu's Letterkenny LEA candidate, Mary T Sweeney says she is fully behind the tractor protests by Farmers today.

"Farmers have been very hard done by this government. The increase in the cost of farm fertiliser has crippled farmers," she said.

"The Mercosur trade agreement by the EU with South America will decimate the Irish beef farmer and is incredibly bad for the environment when we consider the fact that beef production down there involves deforestation, overgrazing and forest fires at a colossal scale, not to mention the carbon footprint associated with transporting the product to the EU"
It's completely senseless".

"The greens are certainly 'green' about rural life and the terrible impact its policies are having on the farming sector; I would go so far as to say some of them might actually think that milk comes from the supermarket.

"We need to support and promote Irish beef farmers. Aontú has introduced a bill to ban the below-cost sale of beef, which would ensure the farmer gets at least a break-even price from the supermarkets and factories.

"Many farmers are fighting for their family livelihoods and ability to survive. Of the 130,000 farmers in the state, only one-third are making enough from the farm to support their families. That is absolutely terrible.

"Another third are surviving because the farmer is also working off the farm to supplement the family income. A full third of farmers are simply not earning enough to live at all. These farmers are being pushed into poverty, debt and off the land.

"It is clear that the beef industry, as it currently constituted, is unsustainable. Beef farmers are selling their produce at below-cost prices while a collection of processors and supermarket multiples make astounding profits on the same product.

"The shocking increases over the past couple of years in the cost of fuel has had a detrimental impact on farm profits. The government has admitted to us that in recent years more tax was taken in on fuel than ever before - this despite the percentage tax going down, but because the raw cost went up,

"Aontú was the only party to vote against the climate action bill and we did so because we knew it would lead to carbon tax. We also oppose attempts to cull the herd. Farmers are not the enemy here. They love the land, they know it better than most and they are its custodians. We have to remember that. Without farmers there is no food. Their backs are to the wall and we in Aontú feel privileged to support them".