The future of calf exports and land distortion in the county were among the big ticket items on the fourth consecutive night of IFA hustings, which took place in Tipperary on Thursday 5 October.

Deputy presidential candidates Alice Doyle (Wexford) and Pat Murphy (Galway) were up first in the Horse and Jockey Hotel, followed then by presidential candidates Francie Gorman (Laois) and Martin Stapleton (Limerick).

The first issue raised in the premier county was how candidates would ensure the future of calf exports, a question which was posed by Nenagh IFA branch member and dairy farmer Michael Kennedy.

Deputy presidential candidate Alice Doyle, in response, said that there are three steps to ensure calf exports are secured into the future.

Firstly, calves must be of very good quality and what the exporters are looking for. Secondly, better liaising with transporters should take place because they have as much to lose here as farmers do, according to Doyle.

And thirdly, Doyle said that other markets outside of Holland need to be looked at and secured.

Land

In relation to land distortion and the pressure farmers are under to secure land, John Ryan, a member of Dundrum IFA said that "certain people" shouldn't be admired for what they're doing.

"We have an awful problem in this county with horsey people buying up all the land. They're no good for the schools, they’re no good for the hurling teams, they do nothing for the parish, they’re no good for the hardwares and they're no good to the co-ops.

"If that was people from China, they'd be stopped long ago, but no, these people are admired," the west Tipperary farmer said.

In response, Stapleton said: "Lets face it, we all know who you are talking about - Coolmore - and all the land they have purchased and how difficult it is for everyone else.

"If we want to stop Coolmore, and I think we should, I think it's not OK for one entity in a region to be buying up everything - that's huge distortion of the market.

"If we want to, we have two options - cap the amount of land that any one entity or person can own, or secondly, cap the amount that can be paid out in agricultural relief," Stapleton said.

Gorman was in agreement with Stapleton and said that something needs to be done to stop it.

"For me, the likes of Coolmore and the scale they are operating at needs to be looked at," Gorman said.

Minister's performance

Another farmer on the floor criticised the performance of current Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue and asked candidates if they believed he should resign from his post.

Stapleton said that he would not ask the minister to resign and highlighted that the power farmers have as a lobby has been reduced.

He described how 50 years ago, the IFA could easily get 10 to 20 thousand farmers to protest in Dublin, however, he described how difficult that is nowadays.

"Our numbers are smaller and our voting power is smaller and we need to recognise that," Stapleton said.

Meanwhile, Gorman said that a resignation from the minister would be a "soft way out".