There are “rumblings” of a no confidence motion from members in Cavan IFA over the pay increases awarded to IFA leadership, according to the former county chair Elizabeth Ormiston.

Her fellow Cavan IFA member Jimmy Sheridan told the Irish Farmers Journal that there is a “queue” of Cavan members looking to put forward such a motion, or one to reverse the salary increases at the executive’s May meeting.

However, the current county chair Maurice Brady said “nobody has said that to me”.

He said that “on the ground, there are a lot of people who can’t stomach what’s happened” and that in his view, there will be an ask from Cavan members to “revisit” the salaries only.

He said the decision-making process and the rationale behind the salary increases hasn’t been “communicated properly”.

Voluntary officers

Ormiston said that the pay rises are “absolutely disgraceful” and “very disrespectful to the voluntary officers and members”.

“The current president made the first kick of the ball on the shake-up in 2014 and now look what’s happened eight years later.

“Our president is now €7,000 off what a former president had to skedaddle over. It just beggars belief.”

Jimmy Sheridan warned that “members thought 2013 was all behind us”.

He said the IFA was “going in the right direction over the last 18 months, but they’ve kicked it back the road again.”

The Irish Farmers Journal also spoke to members in Monaghan and Donegal, who say they plan to put forward motions on revisiting or reversing the increases.

Donegal member Andrew McShea said: “At the times we’re in, they should have been big enough to pause it.”

The unease follows the voting through of a motion to “reverse” the pay increases at a meeting of Kerry IFA last Thursday.

‘No contact’

Meanwhile, a county chair in south Leinster told this paper that he has had “no contact” from members on the pay rise issue and warned that those commenting shouldn’t be personalising things.

A senior figure in Tipperary IFA said that president Tim Cullinan had “never looked for a pay increase”.

However, they revealed that some in north Tipperary who canvassed for the current president are “disappointed” and that they “felt it was a slap in the face”.

County chairs in Louth, Limerick, Roscommon and Cork central confirmed that no motions have been put forward on the salary increases at their executive meetings in the last week.

However, the four chairs all either said that the matter was brought up, or that they felt it is likely it will come up again at their next meeting.

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Kerry IFA calls for ‘reverse’ of leadership’s pay increases