ICMSA want factory representation presence at Saturday’s ‘No To Mercosur’ demonstration in Athlone – “They have ‘a dog in this fight’ too”

 The Chairperson of ICMSA’s Livestock Committee, Michael O’Connell, has said that some positive news on live exports to North Africa and Vietnam cannot obscure the fundamental threat to the Irish beef sector presented by the Mercosur Agreement and Mr. O’Connell said that farmers were rightly wary of what he called “last minute pittance-bribes” and “hyped announcements” that were designed to hide the fact that our beef sector was about the receive a body blow.

“All the politicians need to know that farmers will be watching carefully and individually to see who’s ‘nailed their colours to the mast’ on behalf of Irish farming and fair play. We want to see a unanimous ‘No’ vote and we’ll remember who sold us out. This is about the economic stability and potential of rural Ireland and that goes past just beef production and right across all sectors”, he said.

Commenting on the Taoiseach’s statement that seemed to leave the door open for the Government to back the Mercosur deal, Mr. O’Connell said that the Taoiseach’s comments left unaddressed the central point that would see substandard and untraceable product with major health concerns produced off an environmentally ruinous system available for sale in Ireland and throughout the EU.

“The Taoiseach seems happy enough to just surrender our (Ireland’s) position as ‘best in class’ in terms of producing sustainable, quality beef with renowned health attributes and an international reputation. He seems to be focussed now on securing whatever last-minute pittance-bribes he can from the Commission and hopes that this will act as a smokescreen for the sellout. It won’t and he’d be as well to realise that now. We do not want handouts, we want a level playing field where the food that’s being imported has to meet the same standards of production, traceability and environmental consideration that the Taoiseach and the Commission are happy to load on us every single day”, said Mr. O’Connell.

Mr. O’Connell has also called on all meat processors to stand united with farmers “for a change”.

“ICMSA thinks that the factories should be there on Saturday. Without farmers, factories have nothing. There is power in numbers and unity, and Saturday is a chance to show just that. We have been hearing for years from the factories about the imperative of traceability and farmer commitment to the safety of ‘farm-to-fork’ and not a peep out of them as the EU prepares to welcome 100,000 tonnes of God-knows-what standard beef from God-knows-where. The negative factory narrative around beef prices pre-Christmas has not come to fruition and it is noticeable that a number of factories in the north-west and midlands are tight for numbers, despite the pressure they have tried to apply to price. Leaving this aside for the moment, we are calling them to stand with us farmers on Saturday and show that the industry as a whole is behind Irish farmers. They have ‘a dog in this fight’ too and we want to see them in Athlone”, concluded the Livestock Committee Chairperson.

Ends   8 January 2026

Michael O’Connell, 086-8551015

Chairperson, ICMSA Livestock Committee

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Cathal MacCarthy, 087-6168758

ICMSA Press Office