ICMSA launches protest outside Government buildings

Following on from last week's protest by the Irish Farmers Association the second largest farmers' union the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) has launched a continuous 96-hour protest outside Government buildings.

The protest, designed to highlight the plight of the farming family, will continue until Friday.

ICMSA's president, Mr Pat O'Rourke, said "no farmer or business person would plan for the future the way the Government are fumbling on important agricultural policy issues. It is bad enough that the Minister does not know what solutions are required but he doesn't even know the full extent of the problem."

"Farmers will not be bought off by a mere reversal of cut backs brought in recently by the Book of Estimates and the Budget, even though these are demands from ICMSA," he added.

ICMSA demands include a reversal of recent cutbacks and increases in levies.

Mr O'Rourke said the Tánaiste Mary Harney had given them a written promise before the election that she would support a commission on farming incomes to identify real solutions to the problems facing farming families.

Mr O'Rourke also criticised the Minister saying he, "varies his solutions from day to day from either social welfare, off-farm employment or suggesting that farmers can get more from the market place. None of these are real solutions to the farm income crisis."