James Healy from Donoughmore, Co Cork, has announced his intention to be the person to replace Seán Finan. Healy is currently an associate member of Macra’s national council and was previously the association’s Munster vice president.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal on Saturday, Healy said he has been giving running for the role serious consideration for some time.

“I’m delighted to be in the running,” he said.

“I have been thinking about running for a while now, so I’ve decided to give it a go and we’ll see where it takes me,” he added.

Healy works full time as a production supervisor with an electronics company, but said he is acutely aware of the issues for young farmers. He comes from a small holding, but his uncle is a dairy farmer.

For Healy, the central aspect of his campaign will be delivering a better deal for young farmers in the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

“The big one for me and for Macra, where we will be making a drive is around the renegotiation of CAP to address income instability for young farmers,” Healy said.

He added that it is only in recent months that this issue has come to the fore and said all young farmers must work towards addressing this.

Other candidates are expected to declare in the coming weeks. The 36th president of Macra na Feirme will be elected in April.

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