The IFA elections are nearing the voting stage. The candidates are coming to the last few hustings now, with the potential “Beechers Brook” of the Meath meeting, where issues around Eddie Downey’s resignation and who said what and who did what are likely to re-emerge.

In truth, the specifics of November’s events have only been aired a couple of times during this campaign, notably in Waterford and Kilkenny.

Farmers are more concerned with how the structures are improved for the future than raking over the coals. Of course the native county of Eddie Downey (and Pat Smith) will be emotionally charged, but the next president will not be decided in Navan.

Hard to call

Who will be the next president? It’s hard to say. There’s a definite sense that the contest is close. Our Red C poll last month may have had Joe Healy as a clear leader, but the current crisis in farm incomes is what concerns farmers most right now, not the IFA’s troubles.

Henry Burns and Flor McCarthy have been working relentlessly to win support on the ground, as has Healy.

Dairy farmers may decide the outcome. With prices poor, will they vote sectorally and support Joe Healy? If they do, he will be hard to stop. If the contest is regional rather than sectoral, then Joe Healy has to pull a lot of votes out of Munster, where 40% of the IFA membership resides, to win.

That big Munster vote is Flor’s advantage. Henry is the best known of the three among IFA branch officers.

It’s likely that the contest will go into a second count, so preferences from whoever is eliminated will matter. Joe has been in more barneys with other candidates at the hustings.

There is a theory that most attendees at the hustings are committed to one or other candidate before the meeting ever takes place. If so, the ground war will decide.

Lucey committee meets

Meanwhile, the committee tasked with the implementation of the Con Lucey report met last week for the first time. The group is staying tight-lipped, but reports were positive from the inaugural meeting.

The committee comprises Tom Doyle, Pat Hennessy, Maura Canning, Padraic Joyce, Teddy Cashman, Andrew Dundas, Matthew McGreehan and Andrew McHugh, with Tim O’Leary chairing.