Times have changed – farm orgs should be fighting for an exit/ reduction package

Lambing and calving is well under way on many farms, but any hopes of an early turn-out of cattle has been washed away. Even on a hilly east coast farm like ours, the fields are too soft to tolerate light stores, let alone suckler cows. Normally I would try to get cattle turned out before St Patrick’s Day, but I’m struggling to find fields dry enough even for ewes and lambs.

The last year has been tough for farmers, given the weather, and many are having to re-evaluate their systems because of the workload they face.

So far this year, total beef births are down 17,213 on last year, and total dairy births are down 24,794, which means there are over 42,000 fewer calves born across both sectors.

The CSO’s December 2023 livestock survey reported that there were 818,600 suckler cows in Ireland, which was 43,100 less than a year earlier. It’s not that long ago that there were over a million suckler cows.

Dairy farmers are facing nitrates and labour pressures to their business models, and some have chosen to reduce their cow numbers accordingly.

You couldn’t blame some older farmers for wanting to quit or cut back.

The numbers of calves being registered is showing that the refusal of farm orgs to discuss the option of a cow reduction scheme is going to cost farmers dearly.

There is a stark contrast between how trade unions have always secured exit packages for their members and how farm orgs refused to entertain the concept of a voluntary paid cow reduction scheme.

The high-profile financial and political struggles of RTÉ have shone a light into what is apparently normal practice in State agencies.

The embattled Minister for Media Catherine Martin is embroiled in an argument after claiming to be unaware of the exit package for

RTÉ’s former chief financial officer Richard Collins, who resigned his post. His predecessor Breda O’Keeffe received €450,000 as part of her exit package.

It has now emerged that the civil servant in Minister Martin’s own department responsible for keeping the Minister updated has retired with her pension and nearly €219,000 of an exit package, which was “calculated in accordance with official Government rules”.

The State-owned airports operator, DAA, reported that in 2020, 759 staff left under a voluntary severance scheme with average payments over €130,000, and in the following two years a further 67 staff received average payments of €370,000.

The Dublin Port Company has recently provided exit packages of more than €215,000 per person.

Just last week Cork farmers held a protest at Cork Airport to highlight the difference between how environmental regulation is squeezing farmers, and how aviation is being treated.

There are national plans to increase the number of flights through Irish airports. The government has provided substantial funds for voluntary staff reductions in a sector that they want to grow, yet there is no such scheme for farmers where changes to legislation and policy are leading to a reduction in cow numbers.

Trade unions deserve credit for negotiating with previous governments to achieve generous voluntary exit packages for their members.

Last year the farm orgs, which are paid to represent farmers, failed to recognise that many of their members were intending to reduce cow numbers, and securing a reduction/exit package for them would be in their members’ best interests.

The new leaders of the farm lobby need to have a greater understanding of the evolution that Irish farming is going through and their members’ needs, and should not be afraid to explore new policies while making decisions that previous generations would never have contemplated.