Research shows support for farmers' political party

Vivienne Clarke

The president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association Pat McCormack has said that any support for a farming political party would not be anti-Green, it would be anti-Government.

Mr McCormack was responding to new research from the Irish Farmers Journal which showed that three out of four farmers would support a new farmers’ political party if it were to emerge.

When asked if there was an anti-Government agenda, why not just vote for Sinn Féin, Mr McCormack told Newstalk Breakfast that there was concern among farmers about Sinn Féin’s policies.

The main issue was that there was not an anti-Green agenda among farmers. “I believe farmers and agriculture is on a pathway to meeting its emission targets of 25 per cent reduction. But there is a degree of frustration out there amongst families and rural dwellers about the anti-rural agenda because it is an anti-rural agenda.”

Mr McCormack said that the aviation sector was a significant contributor to emissions, but there was not the same level of “finger pointing” as there was against farming.

Farmers were not having conversations among themselves about a new political party. A general election was still 12 months to 18 months away and farm families were discussing who they would vote for.

The current generation of farmers were concerned about their future. Traditionally Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael TDs would have represented rural families, he said, but farmers now were not happy with either of the political parties. There had been very little interaction with farmers other than from Independent TDs.