“I’m delighted and relieved,” Wexford farmer Pat Crean told the Irish Farmers Journal as he left the High Court at lunchtime on Friday.
“I’m happy to not have the courts hanging over us,” he said, after he and four other farmers agreed to abide by the terms of a temporary injunction secured against them by Slaney Foods earlier this week.
The injunction was made permanent, but the factory agreed not to pursue costs against the farmers.
Next steps
“Where we go from here, I don’t know. We’re going to have to get back to talking and try get the main organisations involved.
"Our biggest concern as farmers is we cannot continue, there’s not a livelihood in it for us anymore.
"To be truthful, maybe we just want to be told there is no future in it, or they’re going to give us something that is going to keep us on the land.
"The temperatures on the line outside the gates are running very high and people just don’t know whether to come or go,” said Crean.
Positive
When asked how the court’s decision to impose a permanent injunction will be taken by farmers at the gates of factories, Crean said he hoped they would “look on the positive side”.
“It’s as good an outcome as we could have hoped for,” he said.
“It could have been an awful lot worse; we just have to stay quiet and it has to be taken as a positive.”
He and a group of Slaney Foods farmers were represented by the IFA’s legal team on Friday.
“We’re very grateful for the IFA coming in behind us and looking after us and taking our back,” he said.
“We have to talk to the factories now this evening and over the next couple of days and work our way around it.”
Read more
Listen: factories should ‘forget about court issues’ - IFA
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ABP, Dawn and Slaney Foods injunctions made permanent
Committal order against farmer protester lifted at High Court
Company behind Slaney Meats and Irish Country Meats makes profit of €3m
“I’m delighted and relieved,” Wexford farmer Pat Crean told the Irish Farmers Journal as he left the High Court at lunchtime on Friday.
“I’m happy to not have the courts hanging over us,” he said, after he and four other farmers agreed to abide by the terms of a temporary injunction secured against them by Slaney Foods earlier this week.
The injunction was made permanent, but the factory agreed not to pursue costs against the farmers.
Next steps
“Where we go from here, I don’t know. We’re going to have to get back to talking and try get the main organisations involved.
"Our biggest concern as farmers is we cannot continue, there’s not a livelihood in it for us anymore.
"To be truthful, maybe we just want to be told there is no future in it, or they’re going to give us something that is going to keep us on the land.
"The temperatures on the line outside the gates are running very high and people just don’t know whether to come or go,” said Crean.
Positive
When asked how the court’s decision to impose a permanent injunction will be taken by farmers at the gates of factories, Crean said he hoped they would “look on the positive side”.
“It’s as good an outcome as we could have hoped for,” he said.
“It could have been an awful lot worse; we just have to stay quiet and it has to be taken as a positive.”
He and a group of Slaney Foods farmers were represented by the IFA’s legal team on Friday.
“We’re very grateful for the IFA coming in behind us and looking after us and taking our back,” he said.
“We have to talk to the factories now this evening and over the next couple of days and work our way around it.”
Read more
Listen: factories should ‘forget about court issues’ - IFA
‘Individual meat processors should join MII at future talks’
ABP, Dawn and Slaney Foods injunctions made permanent
Committal order against farmer protester lifted at High Court
Company behind Slaney Meats and Irish Country Meats makes profit of €3m
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