The Beef Plan Movement is strongly urging the Minister for Agriculture and departmental staff not to use farmers as pawns in the ongoing industrial dispute.
The announced 11-day delay to €315 million in farm payments is completely unreasonable. Ample advance notice was provided regarding the October 14 strike action, giving the Department sufficient time to put contingency measures in place to guarantee on-time payments.
The Beef Plan Movement questions whether any Minister or public sector employee will face delays to their own pay packets during this dispute. It is entirely unacceptable for farmers to suffer financial collateral damage or be used by either side as leverage to force a compromise.
For many farm families, these payments are a critical lifeline needed to clear pressing liabilities, such as contractor bills, pressures that have been severely compounded by soaring input costs and fuel prices. Farmers wait all year for these funds, which serve as essential compensation for producing food at prices below the cost of production.
Using farmers in this manner is intolerable. We call on both sides of this dispute to come together immediately and ensure all delayed farm payments are issued without further disruption.