The Irish Farmers' Association has condemned as "highhanded" a raid on its Bluebell, Co Dublin head office at lunchtime yesterday by officials from The Competition Authority.
The authority confirmed that it had conducted searches at a number of premises yesterday arising from the recent action at Drogheda port where a shipment of wheat was prevented from being unloaded. IFA members had prevented the unloading of 3,000 tonnes of grain from Britain on August 31st as part of an ongoing campaign to highlight the drop in prices they have been receiving.
The group reached agreement with the shipping agent in Drogheda under which the grain was stored in Drogheda port while IFA grain growers offered their own produce to the compounders and millers who were importing the grain.
The action is part of a growing militancy in farming circles against the background of a poor harvest, stagnant produce prices and the uncertainty created by the latest CAP reform proposals.
An IFA spokesman confirmed that its offices had been visited by officials from the authority who had sought computer discs and other material from the head office. In addition, he said, the officials had also spoken to the chairman of the IFA grain committee, Mr Paddy Harrington and the Louth county chairman, Mr Raymond O'Malley. "We regard this as a high-handed action because there was no grounds for such an investigation. It was unnecessary," said the spokesman.
Mr Terry Calvani head of the Authority's cartels directorate said that it was authority practice not to comment on individual cases to avoid prejudicing the outcome of an investigation.
Mr Calvani said the authority was currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the events at Drogheda port and will, in accordance with its normal procedure, consider legal action should it uncover sufficient evidence of a breach of the Competition Act 2002.
The issue is likely to be brought up tomorrow when the IFA president, Mr John Dillon leads a delegation to meet the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh to discuss the income crisis in farming.