The IFA is facing the biggest fight in its 60-year history and it is of its own making. Grassroots members have lost trust in the association and those who have been loyal long-term advocates feel ashamed and hurt. This is a dangerous mix for an organisation whose ability to influence is so dependent on its loyal and committed membership. It was the loyalty and commitment of this membership that gave the IFA its power. This loyalty was based on trust – trust that the IFA was using the funds collected through membership and levies to advance farmers’ interests.
What is becoming clear in the fallout is that decisions taken long before the current administration were in place have contributed to the mess in which the organisation finds itself. Farmers now need all the facts on when and by whom the governance procedures in relation to the general secretary’s salary and pension terms were agreed and implemented, and the possible implications for individuals.
There have clearly been too many major decisions taken in the organisation without proper consultation with the executive council. Was the eight-man management committee responsible for this lack of transparency or were many of its members also left in the dark?
The governing body of the organisation has a responsibility to farmers to ensure proper governance. Its failure to act decisively on the resignation of Con Lucey from the audit committee in August 2014 is reflective of how it has dithered in tackling key issues in recent years – most noticeably the beef crisis. There is no doubt that a strategy of removing power from the commodity teams contributed to the lack of real action.
The focus now has to be on regaining farmers’ trust. The reappointment of Con Lucey to the audit committee is the first step. His remit should extend beyond the governance of the IFA itself and investigate any associated companies, with full exposure as to how they are structured, governed and why they were established. Peter Young goes into more detail here.
As Paul Mooney reports , farmers also deserve an explanation as to how the general pension fund has operated in recent years. The organisation has a clear fiduciary duty to its staff but the large sums of money repeatedly required to bridge the pension deficit needs investigating.
Emotion must not be allowed to cloud the need for change and divert from the tough questions. The farmers who give their time to take up voluntary positions within the organisation deserve great credit. But is it right that individual farmers have effectively made a career out of sitting on the executive council with terms exceeding eight years? Is it right that these farmers take up these critical roles without proper training in governance and management disciplines?
Clearly a root-and-branch review of governance structures pertaining to executives and voluntary officers at both national and county level is overdue. Prof Niamh Brennan makes some excellent recommendations.
The question now is what outcome will best serve the long-term interests of Irish farmers. Would farmers be better served without the IFA in the years ahead? The historical achievements of the organisation would suggest otherwise. Even its harshest critics would have to accept that the successful fight to secure additional quota for Ireland in the dairy quota regime, the IFA/Irish Farmers Journal Brazilian beef campaign and in recent years securing 46% co-financing for the Rural Development Programme all put money in farmers’ pockets. We only have to look at how meat factories are now seizing on a weakened IFA to pull cattle prices to get a glimpse of how a future without the organisation might look.
By far the biggest challenge to the IFA is to remain relevant while implementing the necessary internal reform. The organisation will undoubtedly lose membership and levies in the months ahead. To counteract this, it needs to win back trust and it will only do this by delivering for farmers. The incoming general secretary needs to understand that farmers will measure success on what’s delivered and not the size of the IFA balance sheet.
There will be no shortage of issues in the year ahead for the leadership of the IFA to tackle and prove their worth to farmers. Not only is the outlook for grain, beef and dairy prices challenging, but critical negotiations are ongoing on climate change, and a trade deal between the EU and US is gaining momentum. The real cost to Irish farmers from the failings exposed in the IFA would be a lack of effective representation in these critical negotiations – negotiations that have the potential to seriously curtail production on Irish farms and affect family farm incomes.
Farmers need a strong, articulate and committed IFA that is focused on advancing the betterment of Irish farmers. It is for this reason that while the Irish Farmers Journal will continue to present the facts surrounding this disgraceful situation, we will unashamedly highlight the importance of a well-governed farm organisation to represent the interests of farmers.
You, our readers, are those farmers, and we stand with you as your organisation faces its biggest challenge. We do so because the IFA is not a single general secretary, president or even executive council. The IFA is the farmer who gets up to calve the cow, lamb the ewe and harvest the crops.
The actions of a few cannot be allowed to bring down an IFA that has been and will continue to be so important in safeguarding the income on Irish farms. This was the clear view of John Mooney when he made the decision to donate the Irish Farmers Journal in trust for the betterment of Irish agriculture. It remains the view today.
Read more
Full coverage: Turmoil at the IFA
The IFA is facing the biggest fight in its 60-year history and it is of its own making. Grassroots members have lost trust in the association and those who have been loyal long-term advocates feel ashamed and hurt. This is a dangerous mix for an organisation whose ability to influence is so dependent on its loyal and committed membership. It was the loyalty and commitment of this membership that gave the IFA its power. This loyalty was based on trust – trust that the IFA was using the funds collected through membership and levies to advance farmers’ interests.
What is becoming clear in the fallout is that decisions taken long before the current administration were in place have contributed to the mess in which the organisation finds itself. Farmers now need all the facts on when and by whom the governance procedures in relation to the general secretary’s salary and pension terms were agreed and implemented, and the possible implications for individuals.
There have clearly been too many major decisions taken in the organisation without proper consultation with the executive council. Was the eight-man management committee responsible for this lack of transparency or were many of its members also left in the dark?
The governing body of the organisation has a responsibility to farmers to ensure proper governance. Its failure to act decisively on the resignation of Con Lucey from the audit committee in August 2014 is reflective of how it has dithered in tackling key issues in recent years – most noticeably the beef crisis. There is no doubt that a strategy of removing power from the commodity teams contributed to the lack of real action.
The focus now has to be on regaining farmers’ trust. The reappointment of Con Lucey to the audit committee is the first step. His remit should extend beyond the governance of the IFA itself and investigate any associated companies, with full exposure as to how they are structured, governed and why they were established. Peter Young goes into more detail here.
As Paul Mooney reports , farmers also deserve an explanation as to how the general pension fund has operated in recent years. The organisation has a clear fiduciary duty to its staff but the large sums of money repeatedly required to bridge the pension deficit needs investigating.
Emotion must not be allowed to cloud the need for change and divert from the tough questions. The farmers who give their time to take up voluntary positions within the organisation deserve great credit. But is it right that individual farmers have effectively made a career out of sitting on the executive council with terms exceeding eight years? Is it right that these farmers take up these critical roles without proper training in governance and management disciplines?
Clearly a root-and-branch review of governance structures pertaining to executives and voluntary officers at both national and county level is overdue. Prof Niamh Brennan makes some excellent recommendations.
The question now is what outcome will best serve the long-term interests of Irish farmers. Would farmers be better served without the IFA in the years ahead? The historical achievements of the organisation would suggest otherwise. Even its harshest critics would have to accept that the successful fight to secure additional quota for Ireland in the dairy quota regime, the IFA/Irish Farmers Journal Brazilian beef campaign and in recent years securing 46% co-financing for the Rural Development Programme all put money in farmers’ pockets. We only have to look at how meat factories are now seizing on a weakened IFA to pull cattle prices to get a glimpse of how a future without the organisation might look.
By far the biggest challenge to the IFA is to remain relevant while implementing the necessary internal reform. The organisation will undoubtedly lose membership and levies in the months ahead. To counteract this, it needs to win back trust and it will only do this by delivering for farmers. The incoming general secretary needs to understand that farmers will measure success on what’s delivered and not the size of the IFA balance sheet.
There will be no shortage of issues in the year ahead for the leadership of the IFA to tackle and prove their worth to farmers. Not only is the outlook for grain, beef and dairy prices challenging, but critical negotiations are ongoing on climate change, and a trade deal between the EU and US is gaining momentum. The real cost to Irish farmers from the failings exposed in the IFA would be a lack of effective representation in these critical negotiations – negotiations that have the potential to seriously curtail production on Irish farms and affect family farm incomes.
Farmers need a strong, articulate and committed IFA that is focused on advancing the betterment of Irish farmers. It is for this reason that while the Irish Farmers Journal will continue to present the facts surrounding this disgraceful situation, we will unashamedly highlight the importance of a well-governed farm organisation to represent the interests of farmers.
You, our readers, are those farmers, and we stand with you as your organisation faces its biggest challenge. We do so because the IFA is not a single general secretary, president or even executive council. The IFA is the farmer who gets up to calve the cow, lamb the ewe and harvest the crops.
The actions of a few cannot be allowed to bring down an IFA that has been and will continue to be so important in safeguarding the income on Irish farms. This was the clear view of John Mooney when he made the decision to donate the Irish Farmers Journal in trust for the betterment of Irish agriculture. It remains the view today.
Read more
Full coverage: Turmoil at the IFA
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