Farmers take legal case over union row

Eight farmers have taken High Court proceedings alleging the Minister for Agriculture's failure to return their cattle passports is jeopardising their livelihoods and may force them to leave farming.

The farmers claim that neither cattle passports nor movement permits are being issued because of an industrial dispute over promotion involving Department of Agriculture officials at 35 local offices.

They claim the Minister's failure to deal with the matter is creating serious problems for some 1,100 farmers and their families.

Mr Richard Nesbitt SC, for the farmers, yesterday secured leave from Mr Justice Smyth to serve notice of the proceedings on the Minister. The matter will come before the court again tomorrow.

The action has been taken by Mr Larry Mockler, of Caltra, Ballinasloe, Co Galway, and seven other farmers with addresses in Co Galway and Co Cork.

In an affidavit, Mr Mockler, who farms 100 acres at Caltra, said his only source of income was farming, and the failure to secure movement permits or to have the passports of his cattle returned were creating serious difficulties for him and his family.

He said cattle were tested annually and, before those tests, the farmer has to surrender the passports issued by the department for each animal. If animals were found free of disease, their passports were returned.

Where disease was detected, reactor animals were removed and slaughtered. The herd was quarantined, and passports only returned after two further tests established a disease-free status.

Movement permits could also be issued where farmers wished to send cattle directly for slaughter in advance of obtaining two negative tests.

In his case, eight cases of bovine TB were found in his herd in September 2002. The affected animals were slaughtered, and when the herd was again tested in January last, one diseased animal was detected and that too was slaughtered.

A further test in April last confirmed the remaining cattle were free of bovine TB.

After the first outbreak of disease, he had continued to fatten 10 cattle for slaughter and, after the herd returned disease-free status, he applied for movement permits for those 10. He had failed to secure these, and no reason was given except that he was told there was an industrial dispute at the department.

He was now in a situation where he would be unable to fill his milk quota, and was facing problems regarding fodder shortage. He was unable to purchase replacement dairy stock for his herd. Dry-stock farmers were also facing losses of certain EU premiums.

The failure of the Minister had entirely unbalanced the equilibrium of his farm, and the time for optimum sale of animals and restocking of herds was passing.