Michael Healy, Co Tipperary

“I’m in the Horse and Jockey and there’s no growers. There’s no one left in that area.

“I supply a lot of people with spuds and the crux of the matter is that everyone I’m dealing with in spuds, they are taking less and less. That is a fact.

“There’s less and less spuds being eaten and we have to realise that. It’s on a heavy decline.”

Thomas McKeown, Co Meath

“We’ve been told by the packers if they go too dear people won’t buy them. Everything else seems to have gotten dearer. Tonight we’re here because of this year’s crop. We can’t get a price for it. In fact, some growers have had the price dropped on them since Christmas. That’s what we need to focus on – price.

“There are less spuds, there are spuds leaving the country which is a good thing, and we have other people dictating to us the price of our product.”

Eddie Doyle, Co Kilkenny

“We’re now getting less for salad potatoes than we would have been 20 years ago. The price we are being offered is despicable for the quality.

“The few [vegetable growers] that are left are badly demoralised. We don’t want that to happen to potato growers.

“Our market is contracting. We have to work together, if we don’t work that way we’ll be back here in another year or two wondering what we’ll do.”

Jack Carpenter, Co Meath

“Any man that’s selling spuds delivering to a peeler for €210/t is on a road to no town.

“You said you want to fix the problem? The problem is in the room.

“Twenty-one years ago last January the euro came about, go home and look at your docket book – €400/t. And you wonder why you’re nine-tenths broke.

“How in the name of God do you think it’s going to go on?

“I guarantee you lads, there’s not enough spuds in this country to do until September and there’s lads lorrying out potatoes today at €210/t – you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

“If everyone here turned off their phone for 10 days, they’d be €300/t.”

Farmer quotes from the floor

“Every person that dies today in Ireland is a spud eater gone and every person that’s born today is more than likely not going to eat spuds.”

“Could it be possible to simplify the Bord Bia audits? They’re ridiculous, they’ve gone to infinity now with the questions we’re being asked.”

“We’re not getting a bite of the cherry, we’re on the hind tit the whole time.”

“Would anyone close the door for a fortnight?”