'It was an extraordinary turnout': Cork farmers protest in solidarity with European colleagues
Members of the Irish Farmers' Associtation taking part in a protest in solidarity with their EU conterparts, in Ballincollig, Cork.
Conor O’Leary, the lead farmer of the protest told The Echo that around 550 tractors participated altogether, with 250 of these driving into the city centre from the bridges on approach roads.
He said, “The background is that we’ve had a very difficult 2023 with the application of new regulations that don’t work.”
He explained that they had already held several protests around Cork, including in Bandon and Carrigaline, last year.
“European farmers went out protesting, reflecting many of the same issues we’ve been having, so our farmers just wanted to do something to show solidarity and to show people what the situation is like for us.
“Nitrates, late payments, refusal on VAT, nature restoration, and the issues with the new regulations is that there’s a lot of mixed messaging coming at us, so frustration levels are very high," he said.
He added that the protest came together very quickly, saying “the farmers wanted to do it, and we said we’d do it immediately rather than waiting around, so it was agreed the evening before at about 9pm, and planning went into operation at 9am yesterday morning.
“It was an extraordinary turnout for such a quick turn around,” he said, adding that it was a peaceful protest.
“We were very taken by the support we received, people applauding from the footpaths and taking videos, so there was a very exciting atmosphere in the city last night.”
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