THE Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Spring, would probably refuse to go to Iran to secure a beef tender for Irish farmers even if the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, asked him to do so, the IFA President told an IFA meeting in Monaghan last night.
During a bitter exchange with Senator Ann Gallagher of the Labour Party, Mr Donnelly claimed that Mr Spring had refused to go to Iran on three occasions when asked to do so by IFA.
Mr Donnelly said the first time he had asked Mr Spring to go to Iran to help secure a beef tender, Mr Spring had told him "he would not go because of the system there and because of the difficulties it would create with the Americans and the problems that posed for Northern Ireland".
He said on the second occasion he had asked Mr Spring to go to the Iran, Mr Spring said he would because of the BSE crisis but he did not keep his promise.
"On the third occasion I asked him to go, he said he would not, said Mr Donnelly at a special meeting called by IFA in Monaghan to discuss their county being excluded from the Russian beef contract.
Senator Gallagher said what Mr Donnelly had alleged "was utter nonsense" and that she would meet the Tanaiste later today at a parliamentary meeting of the Labour Party.
Before the exchange with Mr Donnelly, Ms Gallagher said IFA and the people of Monaghan should make the visit to Iran a public issue and Mr Spring would respond to that.
Mr Raymond O'Malley, Chairman of the IFA's Beef Committee said it had emerged at discussions with the Iranian ambassador that because of Mr Spring's refusal to go there, large beef contracts had been lost and so had a contract for 10,000 tonnes of butter.
Ms Gallagher said she had asked Mr Spring about visiting Iran and he had told her the Iranians were not happy at consumer level with Irish beef.
She said if Mr Spring was asked to go, he would go.
Markets other than Russia are vital for the three blacked counties and many speakers drawn from the political, processing and community organisations who attended the meeting said it was vital that they secure these markets.
The chairman of the meeting attended by hundreds of farmers Mr Pat Sherlock, called on farmers to call in the authorities if they became aware of any illegal activity relating to the importation of diseased cows from the North or elsewhere.
The meeting backed a resolution to lift the ban on Monaghan, Cork and Tipperary as quickly as possible by putting into place a system of traceability of cattle.
They also backed Mr Donnelly's call for the ingredients of animal feed to be clearly listed so no bone meal gets in the food chain.
Today, the IFA will put a document on BSE control and quality control to the Government at a meeting of the PCW in Dublin Castle.