The five protesters who remain in the lobby of the Bord Bia headquarters are prepared to stay there “a damn while longer”, Patrick McCormick, one of the protesters and IFA treasurer, has said.

Speaking to a crowd of around 700 farmers at an IFA meeting in Claremorris, Co Mayo, on Thursday night he said that they want to preserve Bord Bia. However, there’s only one way to do that and that is with a new chair of the board of the State agency being installed, he said.

“You might think why are they in there? Why have they spent so many weeks in there? We’re into week three now,” the Monaghan beef and poultry farmer said.

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“Poultry was one of the very first commodities that came under the QA scheme when it came in first, well over 20 years ago, it came in fairly easy, and they all ramped up and up and up and up and became much more difficult.

“And whenever I started then doing the big ones, maybe about 10 years later, they were fairly simple compared to the poultry ones and that’s still the case.

“Preparing for those audits and spending days and nights and late nights, doing up paperwork, going out repairing joints and spoutings, labelling rat bait boxes, doing up maps, doing up all of that, and putting in many, many long and stressful hours and then paying money.

“I’m telling the you, sitting in here for two weeks compared to the stress of doing audits [means] I’m prepared to say a damn while longer in here,” he said to applause from the assembled farmers.

He said that the Bord Bia five have settled into a way of live in the lobby.

“If we can stay the first two weeks we can certainly stay a number of weeks.”

Thriving

Richard Moeran, from Cavan, said that the protesters are “thriving” in at the protest. “We’re actually thriving in here, one of the senior directors in Bord Bia came down there and he said I can’t believe you’re surviving like this and I said we’re not surviving we’re genuinely thriving.

“We’re here to stay and we’re going to stick it out until this job is done.”

Teresa Roche, IFA family farm chair, said that she is fighting to get Larry Murrin removed as chair of Bord Bia.

“That’s our target, goal and ambition and that’s why we’re here today 17 days later”

Christine Friel, Donegal farm family representative said: “I’ve two wee men at home, they’re nine and 11, and they’re putting pressure on for Larry to go. Pity the Government wouldn’t see the same sense that they have.”

Tom Byrne, who described himself as a suckler and machinery farmer from Wicklow, said that Larry Murrin “hitched his wagon to our quality food”.