On page 22, Anne O’Donoghue talks to former general secretary of the ICMSA Ciaran Dolan about Producer Organisations (PO).

Clearly they have a role in a European context, with almost 3,000 established POs allowing them to negotiate with purchasers.

Have they a role in Ireland for dairy farmers? I’ll probably say ‘no’, given that the vast majority of milk is produced in a co-op model, which is essentially a large producer group.

This is the critical difference to the UK or to Europe. In the UK and Europe, private companies buy a lot of the milk and tensions between individual farmers and purchasers often escalate.

Have they a role in other sectors here? I wouldn’t rule them out as quick and they are worth exploring further, given the processor and supermarket dominance.