Sheep-farmers jeered the Minister for Agriculture yesterday as he left a protest meeting arranged to discuss problems facing sheepmeat producers. The IFA president, Mr Tom Parlon, who attempted to explain to the hostile audience that Mr Walsh had to attend a Cabinet meeting, was shouted down by angry farmers.
As he left the platform, the farmers jeered, hissed and boohed. One brayed like a donkey. Mr Walsh left the hotel without comment.
More than 600 farmers attended the IFA-organised national sheep rally at the Red Cow Hotel, Naas Road, Dublin, where Mr Walsh had told them he was committed to bettering their lot.
But speakers from the floor, who said 9,000 sheep-farmers had gone out of business since 1992, were dissatisfied with his answers, especially on what they saw as the low level of the ewe premium and the poor prices they were receiving at market.
Mr Walsh had dealt with many questions from the audience, but when the farmers were told he had to leave for the Cabinet meeting, there was an angry reaction.
One delegate shouted: "We are going out of business every day of the week and you cannot spend a few hours with us. No meeting is more important than this one."
Earlier, he had told the farmers that the sheepmeat sector was very important to the economy, with exports amounting to £90 million last year.
He said that, when the value of direct payments to farmers was included, the contribution of the sector to foreign earnings amounted to some £190 million last year.
He had been unsuccessful in arguing with the EU Commission that there should be a top-up of the ewe premium, but he would continue to attempt to have the premium changed.
He was also supporting the sheep farmers in their efforts to get an "extensification" premium and he was very worried about the impact of the Santer Agenda 2000 reforms on the sheep industry.
Mr Walsh had also told the farmers he was hopeful some arrangement could be made between the EU and New Zealand, even before the next international agreement, under which there would be minimal disruption to EU lamb sales by New Zealand imports.
Farmers, including Mr Michael Holmes, chairman of the IFA's national sheep committee, had complained about New Zealand lamb being "dumped" on the EU market at crucial marketing periods.
He and others had also complained that Irish sheep-farmers had been short-changed by £174 million, or £30 million a year over the last six years, because of the way the ewe premium was being calculated.
Mr Holmes said that, working on the net margin profit per ewe, Irish sheep-farmers would need a flock of 600 ewes for a farmer to earn the average industrial wage of £16,000 a year.
Delegates complained that a Department of Agriculture plan to tag every ewe in the State was laughable and they demanded a more farmer-friendly inspection system.