The fall-out around issues within Kerry IFA continues. Last week, county vice-chair and sheep chair John Joe Fitzgerald resigned, citing unhappiness with an ongoing investigation into relations and communications between Kerry executive members.

Consultant Gerard Dollard is overseeing an external investigation on behalf of the IFA.

IFA national representative and Kerry IFA county chair Kenny Jones declined to comment at this time for fear of prejudicing the investigation, which is understood will be completed in the next few weeks.

Flor McCarthy is a former Kerry county chair, and a two-time national chair of the rural development and hill farming committees.

A trenchant critic of the IFA’s leadership, he believes that policy issues are at the heart of dissatisfaction in Kerry IFA.

He is calling on IFA director Damian McDonald to come to Kerry to address farmers concerns. “We’ve been looking for accountability from the top for months now,” he said.

Michael O’Dowd is the Kerry dairy chair, and recently called for the IFA’s representative on the board of Teagasc, Brian Rushe, to consider his position. O’Dowd believes that issues he has raised around placement of students are not being taken seriously. Like McCarthy, he thinks the issues Kerry IFA representatives are raising aren’t being addressed.

“We’re being hung out to dry on the climate emissions issue,” he said. “Are they protecting the big fellows?”