IFA president Joe Healy said Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed said at last week’s Beef Summit that the Department had recognised and accepted the €100m analysis of the losses by IFA when making its case to the Government and Brussels.

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has intervened directly with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

“Both of these statements are significant in terms of securing an aid package, but it is critically important that no stone is left unturned. With just two weeks to voting, farm families will be watching closely to see how our political leaders pursue the aid package,” he said.

The IFA national livestock chair Angus Woods said beef farmers have been savaged financially by Brexit beef price cuts.

“Beef farmers have major bills to pay to the feed merchants, banks and others. Incomes have been destroyed. These losses are real and have been acknowledged and accepted by the Department of Agriculture and the European Commission which has analysed the data.”