"We shouldn't be here, but this is a new start," Downey told RTE during the IFA election count last Tuesday.

While acknowledging that he had no choice but to resign after losing support within the association, he said he regrets the way he left office.

"If I didn't resign… it would have been a battle all around the country," he said. "A few others should have taken the same lead."

Downey said his successor Joe Healy was "the right man for the job" and offered his "full support" for the new team.

Asked about governance reform at the IFA, Downey said he was "the one turning it around".

"I established an audit committee and a remuneration community," he said. "I feel responsible for the fact that we're now going to have a new IFA."

He also claimed to have had the "lowest salary ever" as IFA president, and losing money while he was away from his farm.

Downey highlighted that he had secured leasing and succession schemes to help young farmers take over, adding: "That's a legacy I'm proud about."

"In two years, I did as much as other presidents did in four," he said.

Since resigning late last year, Downey said he was "happy to be back farming" with his son.

Downey supports Healy and claims credit for 'new IFA'

Interviewed on Countrywide on RTE Radio 1 this Saturday, former IFA president Eddie Downey said Joe Healy was "the right man for the job" but insisted he had initiated governance reforms.