O’Rourke questioned the candidates on a wide range of issues, from restoring the trust of the organisation’s members to levies and plans to tackle falling farm incomes.
All three candidates were given a fair hearing by O’Rourke in the course of an interview that lasted just under 30 minutes.
The first issue raised was how the next IFA president plans to restore trust in the organisation. Henry Burns said the key is to “work with members and listen to them”. He said the IFA matters a lot in rural Ireland and his “passionate belief” in the IFA is the reason he would like to become president.
Flor McCarthy said his position as outgoing chair of the IFA’s rural development committee means he has “a strong affiliation with members, particularly in the west”, and he plans to use this connection to restore trust in the organisation.
Joe Healy said members need to feel they can “reconnect with the organisation” and that these members also want the IFA to return to the organisation that it was before the pay scandals erupted late last year.
Tarnished by scandals
None of the candidates accepted O’Rourke’s suggestion that they are all tarnished by the pay scandals of 2015, with all of them making note of the hard work they have carried out on behalf of the organisation without any salary.
Burns is outgoing chair of the IFA national livestock committee and former chair of the national sheep committee. McCarthy is a former Kerry county chair and outgoing chair of the IFA’s rural development committee, while Healy chairs the IFA commonage committee. Outside of IFA Healy is a farm columnist and a former Macra president.
Levies
On the thorny issue of farmers’ money going back to the IFA through factory levies, all the candidates agreed they would have to be critically examined in light of members’ protests following the resignation of Pat Smith and Eddie Downey in 2015. However, they also agreed that replacement funds for the organisation had to come from somewhere else.
McCarthy defended the practice somewhat by saying he did not feel the factories’ payment of levies to the IFA compromised the organisation when it came to protesting against factories. “We protested against them in 2000 and we kept going until the members stopped. If we stopped the levies, we would need a solid alternative,” he said.
Burns and Healy were a little more critical of the practice, with Burns saying “perception is reality” and the “perception is that it does compromise us”. Healy said the next IFA president “has to look at a way of replacing the factory levies”.
The candidates also confirmed they would be debating farming issues in all 29 county executives throughout February and March.
Listen to the candidates’ full interview with Sean O’Rourke below
Online poll
Meanwhile Henry Burns is leading the way in our online poll on the IFA presidential candidates. The Laois farmer now has 39% of the votes, surging ahead from last Tuesday’s count when he was at 25%.
Flor McCarthy has dipped by 9% over the week and now has 35% of the votes, while Joe Healy stands at 26%.
Some 5,060 votes have been cast to date, up significantly from 3,738 last week, indicating that the campaign is indeed in full swing.
The poll is still open – have your say and cast your vote.
If you cannot see the poll on your screen, click here
Aisling Hussey contributed reporting to this story
Read more
Key quotes from IFA presidential candidates
Weekly podcast: IFA presidential candidates, Australian views and land mobility
Declaration of interests of IFA hopefuls
O’Rourke questioned the candidates on a wide range of issues, from restoring the trust of the organisation’s members to levies and plans to tackle falling farm incomes.
All three candidates were given a fair hearing by O’Rourke in the course of an interview that lasted just under 30 minutes.
The first issue raised was how the next IFA president plans to restore trust in the organisation. Henry Burns said the key is to “work with members and listen to them”. He said the IFA matters a lot in rural Ireland and his “passionate belief” in the IFA is the reason he would like to become president.
Flor McCarthy said his position as outgoing chair of the IFA’s rural development committee means he has “a strong affiliation with members, particularly in the west”, and he plans to use this connection to restore trust in the organisation.
Joe Healy said members need to feel they can “reconnect with the organisation” and that these members also want the IFA to return to the organisation that it was before the pay scandals erupted late last year.
Tarnished by scandals
None of the candidates accepted O’Rourke’s suggestion that they are all tarnished by the pay scandals of 2015, with all of them making note of the hard work they have carried out on behalf of the organisation without any salary.
Burns is outgoing chair of the IFA national livestock committee and former chair of the national sheep committee. McCarthy is a former Kerry county chair and outgoing chair of the IFA’s rural development committee, while Healy chairs the IFA commonage committee. Outside of IFA Healy is a farm columnist and a former Macra president.
Levies
On the thorny issue of farmers’ money going back to the IFA through factory levies, all the candidates agreed they would have to be critically examined in light of members’ protests following the resignation of Pat Smith and Eddie Downey in 2015. However, they also agreed that replacement funds for the organisation had to come from somewhere else.
McCarthy defended the practice somewhat by saying he did not feel the factories’ payment of levies to the IFA compromised the organisation when it came to protesting against factories. “We protested against them in 2000 and we kept going until the members stopped. If we stopped the levies, we would need a solid alternative,” he said.
Burns and Healy were a little more critical of the practice, with Burns saying “perception is reality” and the “perception is that it does compromise us”. Healy said the next IFA president “has to look at a way of replacing the factory levies”.
The candidates also confirmed they would be debating farming issues in all 29 county executives throughout February and March.
Listen to the candidates’ full interview with Sean O’Rourke below
Online poll
Meanwhile Henry Burns is leading the way in our online poll on the IFA presidential candidates. The Laois farmer now has 39% of the votes, surging ahead from last Tuesday’s count when he was at 25%.
Flor McCarthy has dipped by 9% over the week and now has 35% of the votes, while Joe Healy stands at 26%.
Some 5,060 votes have been cast to date, up significantly from 3,738 last week, indicating that the campaign is indeed in full swing.
The poll is still open – have your say and cast your vote.
If you cannot see the poll on your screen, click here
Aisling Hussey contributed reporting to this story
Read more
Key quotes from IFA presidential candidates
Weekly podcast: IFA presidential candidates, Australian views and land mobility
Declaration of interests of IFA hopefuls
SHARING OPTIONS