"Membership consists of people of various political views and allegiances, so in order to function it must be absolutely non-political."
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DEAR EDITOR
I am writing to your distinguished farming paper as a farmer and life member of the IFA. Indeed, as a member of the IFA, I served as Limerick county secretary, national council representative, and Munster vice president.
The bedrock of the IFA is its total commitment to its farmer members and the agricultural industry, and it can only do that by being totally independent of any political allegiance of any kind. Membership consists of people of various political views and allegiances, so in order to function it must be absolutely non-political.
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I was shocked, therefore, to read that nine former presidents of the IFA came out collectively to endorse one of the candidates in the presidential campaign, namely Heather Humphreys. In my opinion, that was wrong.
Past presidents of the association are held in high esteem by the membership and farmers in general. So to claim that they are acting as private citizens doesn’t wash with me. They are symbolic of the IFA and what it stands for. It was poor judgment and paid scant regard to the membership, who hold the IFA’s independence of political allegiance as non-negotiable.
The current president must condemn this action as an act of sabotage to the IFA , an honest broker on behalf of Irish farmers.
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DEAR EDITOR
I am writing to your distinguished farming paper as a farmer and life member of the IFA. Indeed, as a member of the IFA, I served as Limerick county secretary, national council representative, and Munster vice president.
The bedrock of the IFA is its total commitment to its farmer members and the agricultural industry, and it can only do that by being totally independent of any political allegiance of any kind. Membership consists of people of various political views and allegiances, so in order to function it must be absolutely non-political.
I was shocked, therefore, to read that nine former presidents of the IFA came out collectively to endorse one of the candidates in the presidential campaign, namely Heather Humphreys. In my opinion, that was wrong.
Past presidents of the association are held in high esteem by the membership and farmers in general. So to claim that they are acting as private citizens doesn’t wash with me. They are symbolic of the IFA and what it stands for. It was poor judgment and paid scant regard to the membership, who hold the IFA’s independence of political allegiance as non-negotiable.
The current president must condemn this action as an act of sabotage to the IFA , an honest broker on behalf of Irish farmers.
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