The Irish Farmers Journal has examined the interests of each of the hopefuls – Henry Burns, Joe Healy and Flor McCarthy – in the IFA presidential race.

Following comments made by IFA presidential hopeful Joe Healy last week that he had nothing to declare other than his work with the Farming Independent and sitting on two IFA committees (the farm business committee and chair of the commonages implementation committee), we can reveal that he is also a director of Farmer Business Developments plc.

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Farmer Business Developments plc is the majority shareholder and founding body of FBD Insurance.

Along with 15 other board members including former IFA president Padraig Walshe as chair, Healy has sat on the board of Farmer Business Developments for the past eight years, at a time where it has pumped almost €110m into the insurer to shore up its balance sheet. Healy declared to the Irish Farmers Journal that he receives an annual director’s fee of €3,000.

Healy is also a director of his own farming operation, Milestone Farming Ltd, which was set up in 2012. He has also sat on the board of a property management company, Gort Na Coiribe, for the past five years. He does not receive any compensation for this directorship.

Healy told the Irish Farmers Journal that he felt that the deal to buy the hotels from FBD during the year was in the best interests of Farmer Business Developments and its shareholders. He also said that having made the decision to run as president he will step down from the board of the property management company.

The two other candidates, Henry Burns and Flor McCarthy, are not directors in any companies.

When contacted by the Irish Farmers Journal, both men confirmed that their main source of income comes from their respective farms. Burns, however, sits on a subsidiary board of Bord Bia.

Leased land

McCarthy said that he “started off on a very small holding” before he leased land outside of Cork city which allowed him to buy land in his native Co Kerry. The income of both Flor and his wife Mary comes solely from their farm in Kenmare. McCarthy is the outgoing chair of IFA's rural development committee.

For Burns, the situation is similar. He is in partnership with his mother and was with his father too prior to his father’s death on St Stephen’s Day last. Burns farms sucklers, beef and tillage in Co Laois.

As Burns is currently the chair of IFA’s livestock committee, he sits on the meat and livestock board of Bord Bia. Burns confirmed that this was “made known in the Con Lucey report”.

Burns received expenses to pay for farm labour in 2015 for his work with Bord Bia and the IFA. Burns said he spent “over 200 days” away from his farm in 2015 working “on behalf of farmers”.

Patrick Donohoe also contributed reporting to this story