I hear that the IFA members in Cavan last week got the answer to the €1m question that had kept members up at night: what would happen if the IFA’s coffers ran dry?

The IFA’s director general Damian McDonald stated that while the association’s accounts are in healthy nick due to strong fee-paying membership numbers, he would stake money on IFA president Francie Gorman having the pull to secure a previously unexplored funding route.

“If we ran out of money in the morning and we went into the Department of Agriculture and we said we need €1m to keep the lights on, I bet you every penny, Francie would have the cheque going out the door,” McDonald said.