There was a good turnout for the Limerick husting for IFA presidential candidates in Adare with over 300 farmers present. The meeting was addressed by the three presidential candidates only: Henry Burns, Joe Healy and Flor McCarthy. The three candidates for the deputy presidency were present but did not speak because one of them is from the county.

Questions about the running of IFA, pay, levies and reform of the organisation dominated the first half. The meeting then moved on to farming issues covering everything from prices to pre-nuptial marriage agreements to animal diseases.

The three candidates, now half-way through a month of these meetings, spoke with assurance and dealt well with all questions. That included questions on potentially contentious issues such as levies and pay in IFA, past and present.

The candidates also had time to spell out how they planned to deal with the income difficulties of 2016. Tomorrow night: Ennis, Co Clare.

23.45pm

Chairman Aidan Gleeson was clearly going for the prize for longest IFA husting - and must have it won! What would have happened if the deputy candidates were also speaking?

Aidan says that it was good to have the three candidates, serious and committed, come to address Limerick farmers, face to face. The candidates now make rousing final comments and receive genuine applause from an appreciative audience. Over and out.

23.15pm

After healthy, down-home discussion of farming issues a question brings us right back to... IFA. A speaker claims that it was rumoured that one executive secretary in IFA is on a salary of €160,000 per year. He didn't suggest that is too high, but says that the staff member rarely comes down to addess Limerick farmers. Also, the Lucey report didn't go far enough. Another man wants to speak at length about the dangers of GMO feeds - and is not happy to be stopped.

Joe Healy agrees that the Lucey report didn't go far enough - but it had to be done in a hurry.

Henry Burns takes on the issue of GMOs. "Being GMO, being green, is only of value if it gets more for the farmer. Otherwise, we can't compete with one hand tied behind our backs." That plays into the hands of the supermarkets, he says. He adds that there is a phoney war ongoing about standards in international trade with farmers at risk of being sacrificed. "The US should not be allowed send beef here until they tag all their cattle and stop using hormones." Later, he returns to the issue of one staff member's pay, warning that staff matters must be dealt with in a professional manner.

Flor McCarthy says that there is demand among county executives for more analysis of past payments in IFA and it will be dealt with. On individual salaries, he says: "We'll look at it." He later adds that he won't deal with rumour and innuendo.

A smattering of other questions are dealt with: inspections by county councils, milk market supports. The meeting is starting to wind down. Smarter people are going to the tables at the back and beating the queue for a cup of tea. The chairman says he'll take one last question.

22.45pm

PI calves, pre-nup agreements, late payments from the Department, encouraging young farmers - all is fair in love, war and at IFA meetings.

Here is an answer from Henry Burns to one question, although I'm not sure which: "When this is over, if it doesn't go as I want, I'll go back to being an ordinary farmer. But I'll be a loyal IFA member helping my fellow farmers, including young farmers. I won't be sitting on the sidelines, a hurler on the ditch. I never was."

On the very tricky issue of marital breakdown, the Laois man says that everything brought into a marriage should not necessarily be on the table in the sad event of a break up. He is choosing his words carefully.

Flor McCarthy says that the risk of marriage break up was the reason why many farms are not being transferred. "The organiation needs to look at it."

Does Joe Healy shy away from the issue? No. In fact he demonstrates he has a good knowledge of the matter. "It costs €1,200 to get a prenup," he said. "It last five years and then you have to get a post nup." Most marriages that fail, fail within 24 months, he concludes. The audience is impressed at his grasp of the facts.

22.35pm

The meeting takes a turn, away from IFA matters. What can IFA do to give farmers a bigger share of retail price and therefore better incomes? Henry Burns is strong on this subject. He says that in the USA meat processors are obliged by law to report their sale prices to the agricultural authorities, twice per day. There are huge fines if they try to mislead. Similarly, the imbalance in power between farmers and processors/retailers here has to be dealt with by legislation.

Joe Healy says that farmers are being pushed around by retailers.

Flor McCarthy says that below-cost selling by retailers has to be dealt with by new legislation. "It's a massive issue for the organisation if we are to sustain the family farm." The farmer who asked the question from the floor comes back in: "It's unacceptable that we have no idea of the profitability of ABP, of Tesco, of Dunnes Stores," he says. "They can hide their profitability. It's made at our expense but they can hide it. That's a fundamental weakness in the system."

22.15pm

Joe Healy is the first to have a lash at Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney - and gets himself a round of applause. He accuses the Minister of not being engaged with the sector and its current difficulties. On staff pay, he says: "We can't have a situation where staff are dictating to the organisation. That's a real case of the tail wagging the dog. As president, I wouldn't allow that." Nonetheless, nonetheless... he stresses that the organisation needs the best available staff to get the results needed for farmers. On beef, weekly kill has to be kept under 30,000 head and the only way to do so is to get cattle going out live. Joe dismisses talk about beef exports to far-flung markets like China as being no more than that - talk. The Galway man is blunt on levies: "They must go."

22.10pm

Next with the mike is Flor. "We don't know the wage structure in IFA," he says. "It will have to be dealt with by the incoming president, probably by way of a heads of agreement with staff." (No-one in the audience knows what a heads of agreement is but it sounds good!) Flor agrees that change is needed in the organiation to deliver more for beef farmers. "We haven't enough beef finishers involved in the running of the organisation," he suggests. "We need to get them in."

22.00pm

They don't go for dull questions in Limerick.... The next batch of questions includes pay to other staff members in IFA and why they should or could not be revealed, plus IFA's delivery (or not) on beef prices. Henry Burns agrees that transparancy in the organisation is needed. The organsiation needs good advice on setting pay levels, he says. He would drive a wide reform of the organisation. "I have proved myself to be a listener." He defends his own performance on beef price. Markets have been opened including Egypt this week, while UK farm organisations are working 24/7 to reduce shipments of Irish beef and Irish cattle to the UK.

These questions on beef prices will probably allow McCarthy and Healy to now attack Burns performance as livestock chairman - it is an election after all!

With the meeting well underway, the crowd has now grown to well over 300.

21.55pm

Credibility must be earned back by IFA, Henry Burns says. "That will be done by being more open and by fighting for farmers." Henry wants a "grown up" discussion about levies. "They amount to €4.7m. Can we continue as we are without that money? Probably not." He says: "I want to be open and honest. There is no other way of getting that money except on the membership. And I'm not sure it can be got on membership. I give you a commitment to leading an open and grown up discussion on levies."

Joe Healy next to address the two issues. Turnover in IFA is €12m, he says. "It cost €10.5m to run the organsiation - we now know where some of that money went. It probably can be run more efficiently. But we can't cut services, they are there for every member. And we won't have to be cut," he claims. If levies are to stay, they will have to be more transparent. He also says: "I don't agree with golden handshakes."

21.40pm

First question from the floor is about... Yes you guessed, pay at the top level of IFA and levies. "There can be no more undercover stuff," Flor McCarthy says. "There's definiitly a need for 100% full accountability. Otherwise IFA will be further and badly damaged." Future pay for president and next general secrtary will be set by a committee of four members of national council plus two outside advisers. Levies must be reformed but viability of the organsiation protected.

21.35pm

Flor McCarthy is third to go and the firmest speaker to the crowd yet. Flor stresses his achievements in getting big exchequer funding for the rural development programme. Some 38,000 farmers have got into GLAS, the grant rates are high in TAMS. These, Flor says, did not happen by chance but by pushing and drive by IFA and its members (and Flor of course, in case you didn't know!). IFA's strength is its members, he said. Now, it needs a leader of strength.

9.30pm

Next up is Joe Healy. Joe is once again stressing his position as outsider. He wants to tackle the issue of pay in IFA and introduce a bottom-up approach in the organsiation. His priorities include full restoration of ANC, better treatment of farmers with designated land, a working charter of farmer rights. The beef grid is "on wheels", Joe said, moving about from week to week to suit the factories. There was never as much confusion on beef prices, he said. The Beef Forum "hasn't achieved for farmers" - a dig at rival Henry Burns.

21.15pm

The Limerick hustings are now underway, with about 200 farmers present and more arriving in. Henry Burns was first to speak. Henry emphasised his dealings with beef issues. His priorities include dealing with the tricky issue of levies, within his first six months, plus live exports.

8.30pm

The IFA has added new dates for election hustings.

8.18pm

You can catch up with the previous hustings here: Cork north, Waterford, Cork central, Cork west and Tipperary north.

8.04pm

While the candidates and the audience get ready, you can browse our photo gallery above to see photos of the Cork north debate held on Monday in Mallow.

7.56pm

We will cover the Limerick hustings here shortly. As this is home turf for one of the candidates for IFA deputy president, Richard Kennedy, only presidential candidates are debating tonight.

The Irish Farmers Journal will continue to bring you live blogs of all debates where presidential candidates are present at Farmersjournal.ie and on the mobile app.

Confirmed IFA election debates details

WexfordRiverside, EnniscorthyMon 22 Feb
KilkennyNewpark Hotel, KilkennyTue 23 Feb
CarlowDolmen Hotel, CarlowWed 24 Feb
WicklowWoodenbridge Hotel, ArklowThu 25 Feb
South TipperaryCahir House Hotel, CahirMon 29 Feb
MayoWelcome Inn, CastlebarTue 1 Mar
GalwayRaheen Woods, AthenryThu 3 Mar
WestmeathPark Hotel, MullingarFri 4 Mar

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Full coverage: IFA elections 2016